Back in the day Brian Ross would have gotten away with making false claims like this. Damn that internet.....
ABC has sustained withering criticism from all corners of the internet since the error first became known Friday.
"We deeply regret and apologize for the serious error we made yesterday," the network continued in its latest statement. "The reporting conveyed by Brian Ross during the special report had not been fully vetted through our editorial standards process. "As a result of our continued reporting over the next several hours ultimately we determined*the information*was*wrong*and we corrected the*mistake*on air and online," it concluded.
It's not the first time Ross has come under fire for playing fast and loose with the facts, either. In 2012, he falsely suggested that the Aurora shooter Jim Holmes had been a member of the Colorado Tea Party -- he was not.