MS NOW corrects report claiming Kash Patel had landed in Russia
Developing story first seen 3 hours ago
Newly added details confirm that FBI Director Kash Patel was in Virginia on Wednesday for a law enforcement appreciation event at Liberty University, after MS NOW reported he had landed in Russia. The FBI challenged the report shortly after it aired, and the network later corrected it, saying Patel remained in the United States.
MS NOW’s Peter Alexander had cited two people familiar with the matter, while reporter Ken Dilanian said the FBI had not answered the network’s questions and that the timing of any potential trip remained unclear. Patel responded, “Facts over clickbait.” A July report said a planned visit to Russia would include Moscow and St Petersburg.
- Patel was in Virginia, not Russia.
- MS NOW corrected its report later that day.
- The timing of any Russia trip remains unclear.
New here? Start with this
Kash Patel is the director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the US agency responsible for federal law enforcement and domestic security. Reports of a possible visit to Russia drew attention because the purpose and potential hosts of such a trip were not clear.
Russia is a significant US counterpart, and contact involving a senior American official can attract scrutiny. Patel’s role and the uncertainty around any planned visit made accurate reporting about his whereabouts especially important.
Full account
MS NOW corrected a report on Wednesday that FBI Director Kash Patel had arrived in Russia, saying he remained in the United States. The network had initially presented the claim as breaking news, with anchor Peter Alexander introducing correspondent Ken Dilanian, who said two people familiar with the matter had told him Patel had landed there for a planned visit.
The reports supplied here say Patel was in Lynchburg, Virginia, attending a law enforcement appreciation event at Liberty University. An FBI-affiliated rapid response account challenged MS NOW’s account and posted images of Patel at the event. Patel also criticised the report, writing, “Facts over clickbait.” An FBI public affairs official described seeing the broadcast while receiving photographs of Patel in Virginia.
In its correction, Dilanian said the network had since established that Patel had not arrived in Russia and was still in the US. He said the timing of any possible trip remained uncertain, regretted the error and noted that the FBI had not answered the network’s questions. The correction came a little over two hours after the initial report, according to one of the source accounts.
Before correcting the report, Dilanian had discussed why a visit to Russia might be sensitive, referring to possible surveillance by the FSB and concerns among his FBI sources about the trip’s purpose. Those concerns were framed around the initial, incorrect claim that Patel was already there. The reports also refer to earlier coverage of a planned visit, with Moscow and St Petersburg named as possible stops.
Where outlets differ
The accounts differ in how they identify the people who first reported the claim: one says anchor Peter Alexander announced it and then introduced Dilanian; another attributes the initial report directly to Dilanian in conversation with Alexander.
They vary in their timing description, placing the correction at roughly two hours or about two and a half hours after the first report.
One account says the FBI posted images of Patel at the event and quotes its rapid response account; another focuses on the account’s mocking response. They also differ in emphasis: one foregrounds MS NOW’s on-air correction and regret, while the other gives more space to Dilanian’s discussion of surveillance concerns and reactions from FBI officials.
More coverage
- Daily Mail — FBI bashes MS NOW for false report claiming Director Kash Patel had landed in Russia for secret meetings
- The Hill — FBI refutes MS NOW report Patel in Russia, posts video of Virginia event
- Deadline — MS NOW Corrects Report On FBI Director Kash Patel Landing In Russia: “We Regret This Error”
Read the full article at the source →
Originally published by Fox News as “MS NOW issues correction after reporting Kash Patel ‘landed in Russia’ while he was actually in Virginia”.