NBC Nightly News anchor Brian Williams is under fire this week after admitting his story of being on a helicopter shot down during the Iraq War in 2003 was false.
A Washington Free Beacon analysis has revealed other stories told by the longtime Nightly News anchor may have been false, including ones about him winning the Nobel Peace Prize, curing Ebola and beating up Chuck Norris. His shocking proclamation that he killed Osama bin Laden is also now in question. Please note the tags at the bottom of this story.
In seriousness, Williams apologized for what he called a misremembering of his helicopter story, a tale he has peddled for years despite NBC executives asking him not to do so in public. It is unclear how one could possibly mistake being on a helicopter that was shot down versus one that was nearly an hour behind it and not shot down. In fact, even that explanation is under attack for its inaccuracy.
"I made a mistake in recalling the events of 12 years ago," Williams said Wednesday night. "It did not take long to hear from some brave men and women in the air crews who were also in that desert. I want to apologize. I said I was traveling in an aircraft that was hit by RPG fire. I was instead in a following aircraft."
His apology was prompted by a story in Stars and Stripes in which crew members on the helicopter that WAS hit said Williams was nowhere near it.
Williams and his camera crew were actually aboard a Chinook that was about an hour behind the three helicopters that came under fire, according to Stars and Stripes.
Said Williams,"I don't know what screwed up in my mind that caused me to conflate one aircraft with another."
Now critics are wondering if Williams' career may be shot.
Meanwhile, left-wing media outlets have happily come to the aid of one of their mainstream allies. The New Yorker's Ryan Lizza sent out this tweet, for instance:
Read this excellent piece by @mkonnikova before you crucify @BWilliams: http://t.co/Gr2LB8qX7A
— Ryan Lizza (@RyanLizza) February 5, 2015
Come on, man.