Published on September 13, 2024, 12:34 am

TIME Magazine recently had to backtrack and issue a correction about misrepresenting statements made by former President Donald Trump during a debate with Vice President Kamala Harris. The incident reflects the importance of real news and marks an example in our mission to provide trusted news from a Christian worldview.

The corrected report pertains to statements the former President made about Harris’ stance on performing gender transition procedures for undocumented immigrants. Initially, TIME declared Trump’s comments as false, however, upon further inspection, it was found that his assertions were indeed accurate.

During the intense debate, Trump referenced several issues on which he claimed Harris had changed her position since being announced as the Democratic Party’s presidential nominee. One such statement: “Now she wants to do transgender operations on illegal aliens that are in prison”, was initially deemed untrue by TIME.

However, these claims stemmed from a 2020 questionnaire that Harris completed during her unsuccessful bid for presidency. The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) questionnaire asked if she would utilize executive power to ensure comprehensive treatment related to gender transition including all necessary surgeries – was accessible for transgender and non-binary inmates. Her response at that time was affirmative.

In fact, defending her stand, Harris once articulated how crucial it is for transgender individuals relying on state care to receive necessary treatments which include those associated with gender transition. She further expressed her intent to instruct federal agencies responsible for essential medical care provision to execute transition treatments.

Despite making this factual correction in their report following scrutiny from its readers and broad public backlash; TIME maintained a cautious tone signifying some level of skepticism towards Trump’s statement by using the language ‘claimed’. The revised sentence stated: “The former President … claimed that Harris ‘wants to do transgender operations on illegal aliens in prison.’ ”

This verbiage demonstrates an apparent reluctance from TIME even granted the fact that Harris’ support has been previously documented. Inaccurate reporting like this can lead serious questions about the truthfulness and integrity of news organizations. And it highlights the necessity to maintain vigilance when disseminating information, so that trusted news is not compromised nor real news misconstrued.