The Center for Public Integrity is dedicated to ensuring that all material disseminated by the Center is accurate and reliable. If the Center does make a mistake of fact or substance, we will quickly and transparently correct it and explain the correction. Minor errors of spelling or punctuation will be corrected on the site without notice.

If you believe you have found an inaccuracy in a Center publication, let us know.

All corrections will be noted in the story and on the corrections page.

Posted Friday, July 8, 2011  6:37 PM
The story, FACT CHECK:  Does the United States “look a lot like Greece?”,  was updated to correct a typographical error. The Congressional Budget Office projected a U.S. debt of over $15 trillion by year end, not $15 billion.

The story "Ahmed Ressam, mastermind of foiled LAX plot, gave up valuable details about al-Qaida without harsh interrogation" was updated to correct information about Steven Kleinman, who is active duty and not retired and who saw harsh interrogation techniques in Iraq, but not specifically Abu Graib.

Posted Wednesday, January 12, 2011 9:32 AM
An earlier version of the story “Quarter-Century After Bhopal, a Deadly Chemical’s U.S. Production to End” stated that Bayer CropScience stores 14,000 pounds of MIC at its West Virginia plant. In fact, it stores 200,000 pounds. The 2008 accident referenced in the story nearly led to the breach of a tank that held 14,000 pounds of MIC.

Posted Friday, January 7, 2011 2:39 PM
In an earlier version of the story “Obama’s New Chief of Staff Sought to Loosen Post-Enron Corporate Reforms,” we incorrectly spelled Thomas Donohue’s name. The story has been updated.

Posted Tuesday, October 19, 2010 10:35 AM
In an earlier version of the story “DOJ Releases, Then Tries to Reel Back FOIA Documents in Holocaust Case,” we incorrectly reported that Lucy Dalglish was the former director of Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press. Dalglish is still director of the group.

Posted Thursday, October 14, 2010 7:20 PM
In the original version of the post “Republican Allies Pour Money Into Ads Targeting 50-60 House Races,” we stated that former Sen. Norm Coleman’s group was going to spend about $25 million on a few dozen ads for House and Senate races. The group plans to spend that amount on a few dozen House and Senate races. The story has been updated.

Posted Friday, September 24, 2010 6:48 PM
In the original version of the post “Brokerage Regulator’s Portfolio, Practices Remain Secret,” we incorrectly reported that FINRA has about $6 billion in shareholder equity. The organization actually has $1.4 billion in total equity. The article has been updated.

Posted Friday, July 16, 2010 9:47 AM
The original version of the post “MONEY & POLITICS: A High-Profile Client List for Lobbyist in Ethics Probe” said lobbyist Julie Domenick was a target of an OCE investigation into eight lawmakers. The article has been updated to more accurately reflect that she only received a request for documents related to fundraising for Rep. Joseph Crowley, D-N.Y.; only lawmakers and congressional staff can be targets of an OCE probe.

Posted Wednesday, June 16, 2010 5:27 PM
The original versions of the stories “Backing Pelosi: A Labor of Love” and “Harry Reid: In the Clearing Stands A Boxer” erroneously listed the Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Employees (BMWE), an affiliate of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, as the top career PAC contributor to Speaker Pelosi. The error occurred as a result of FEC filings by a Teamsters PAC that listed the BMWE as the PAC’s affiliated committee. Those contributions should have been attributed generally to the Teamsters, making them the top career contributor. A spokesman for the Teamsters confirmed to the Center that the Teamsters and their affiliate union PACs should be considered as a single entity. We regret the confusion.

Posted Thursday, June 10, 2010 4:55 PM
Following publication of “Coast Guard Fleet Slowed by Mechanical Woes During BP, Haiti Rescues,” the Coast Guard updated the amount it had spent on the Deepwater Modernization project, from $1.6 billion to $1.8 billion. The article has been changed to reflect the new amount.

Posted Friday, May 21, 2010 1:46 PM
The original version of the article, “Billionaire Clinton Pal Finally Gets Waiver from U.S. No-Fly List,” incorrectly stated that the subject of the story required a green card to travel. He does not. The article posted on the Center’s website has been corrected.

Posted Friday, May 7, 2010 5:30 PM
The original version of the PaperTrail post, “Judge Urged to Revoke BP Refinery Probation After Gulf Oil Spill,” incorrectly stated BP executives could face jail time if Judge Rosenthal revoked the company’s probation. The sentence should have said plea deal instead of probation.

Posted Monday, May 3, 2010 2:47 PM
The original version of the April 28, 2010 story, “The Road Gang,” incorrectly identified a Ranger Construction I-95 widening project as occurring in Florida’s Martin County. The project is actually underway in Brevard County.

Posted Wednesday, April 21, 2010 2:47 PM
Because of incorrect information filed with the Federal Election Commission, the original version of the March 11, 2010, story, “Developers in the Driver’s Seat on Transportation” originally misidentified Vincent Roberti Jr., instead of Vincent Roberti Sr., as a bundler of campaign contributions. The article posted on the Center’s website has been corrected.

Posted Tuesday, April 13, 2010 3:46 PM
The original version of the December 3, 2009, story, “Campus Sexual Assault Statistics Don’t Add Up” incorrectly stated 77 percent of four-year universities reported 0 rapes in 2006. The article should have said 77 percent of two and four year universities reported 0 rapes. The article posted on the Center’s website has been corrected.

Posted Wednesday, January 13, 2010 10:45 AM
The original version of the December 3, 2009, story, “Campus Sexual Assault Statistics Don’t Add Up,” erroneously reported that the Department of Education fined LaSalle University for ignoring crime data, including 28 sexual assaults. The university and the department later reached a settlement. The data in question actually involved a total of 28 crimes, of which only a small number were sexual offenses. The error arose out of a misreading of an Education Department document. The article posted on the Center’s website has been revised accordingly.

Posted Tuesday, September 22, 2009 4:14 PM
The original version of the September 15, 2009, story, “The Transportation Lobby” included multiple records for about 35 lobbying reports. This created the appearance that some clients spent additional money on transportation lobbying. The Center has removed all duplicate records from the data.

Posted Wednesday, September 2, 2009 11:30 AM
The original version of the August 25, 2009, article “Your Broke It, You Fix It?” stated that the Home Affordable Modification Program would use up to $50 billion in federal bailout funds to help as many as four million homeowners stay current on their mortgages. The Center has clarified that language to indicate the full $75 billion scope of the program, in which up to $50 billion of taxpayer funds will be used for incentives to private lenders, servicers, and homeowners while another $25 billion will be provided by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to modify loans they own.

Posted Thursday, August 27, 2009 3:19 PM
A June 17, 2009, PaperTrail blog post, “ACCOUNTABILITY: Despite New Rules, Appraisers Say Pressure Remains,” incorrectly identified appraiser Don Martin as being from Ohio. He is from Illinois.

Posted Tuesday, July 28, 2009 4:37 PM
A July 24, 2009, Center story, “Builders Fight Proposed Home Sprinkler Requirements,” misstated the membership and voting requirements of the International Code Council, an organization that promulgates “model” codes for construction and fire safety. The International Code Council now has approximately 50,000 members; however, only about 28,000 of them are eligible to vote on such code changes.

Posted Wednesday, May 20, 2009 2:28 PM
In the original version of “Climate Change Lobbying Dominated by Ten Firms,” Samuel Whitehorn of McBee Strategic Consulting was incorrectly identified as a former Republican counsel to the Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee. In fact, Whitehorn served as Democratic minority aviation counsel to that committee under Senator Ernest “Fritz” Hollings, Democrat of South Carolina, and as the committee’s minority Deputy Staff Director under Senator Daniel Inouye, Democrat of Hawaii.

Posted Friday, April 3, 2009 11:37 AM
To clarify, an article the Center originally posted on Sept. 30, 2008, “Global Warming: Heated Denials,” stated that in 2006, the Koch Foundation gave $5.3 million to “global warming skeptic groups.” In addition to their global warming-related work, these groups, such as the Pacific Research Institute, the Media Research Center, and the Mercatus Center, are concerned with an array of other issues, including free enterprise, personal responsibility, and health care.

Posted Friday, April 3, 2009 9:06 AM
In the PaperTrail post “Behind the Climate Skepticism Curtain: The Koch Family and the Cato Institute,” published April 1, 2009, it was incorrectly reported that Koch Industries spent $7.4 million to lobby Congress on global warming issues. The money was used for lobbying on a number of issues, of which global warming was one.

Posted Wednesday, March 11, 2009 12:28 PM
In “The Climate Change Lobby Explosion,” published February 25, 2009, it was incorrectly reported that the American Coalition for Clean Coal Electricity spent $10.5 million lobbying Capitol Hill on climate issues in 2008. The correct number is $9.95 million.

Posted Tuesday, March 10, 2009 1:24 PM
The blog post “Advocates for Climate Change Action Face Pressure from Lobbyists, Skeptics,” published on March 9, incorrectly stated that the president’s budget plan included $626 billion in revenue from industries that emit greenhouse gases. The actual number is $646 billion.

Posted Friday, February 20, 2009 11:05 AM
The initial map accompanying “Coal Ash: The Hidden Story” used tons as the measure of the amount of coal ash disposed of at each site. The correct measure is thousands of tons.

Posted Tuesday, November 25, 2008 11:25 PM
In “Outsiders Target Indian Land for Risky Business,” published November 19, 2008, it was incorrectly reported that political contributions from Indian gaming interests during the 2008 election cycle to be $8 billion. The correct amount is $8 million.

Posted Wednesday, June 06, 2007 2:18 PM
In “An Interrogation Role Model,” published May 30, 2007, it was incorrectly stated that Mordechai Vanunu was put on public trial. Vanunu’s trial was held behind closed doors, with only his verdict made public.

Posted Tuesday, December 05, 2006 2:30 PM
Since publishing the database for Campaign Consultants: The Price of Democracy on Sept. 26, 2006, the Center identified an additional vendor as a political consultant. Updated statistics in the story, “A Wealth of Advice,” reflect the new information. The vendor, InfoCision Management Corporation, received $62 million for phone banks and fundraising services. The Center had not previously identified this vendor as a consultant. The Center also identified additional payments to LUC Media, increasing its total from $195,000 to $7.3 million and to Feather Larson Synhorst, increasing its total amount from $21 million to $26.9 million.

These additions increased the overall percentages paid to phone consultants from 3 percent to 7 percent and reduced the percentages for two categories: media (from 67 percent to 65 percent), and direct mail (from 17 percent to 16 percent).

Posted Thursday, October 12, 2006 9:30 AM
In “States Outpace Congress in Upgrading Lobbying Laws” and its corresponding chart, “State Legislator Revolving Door Provisions,” published March 1, 2006, it was incorrectly stated that 20 states had a one-year cooling-off period before legislators can become lobbyists. New Mexico does not have a one-year cooling-off period before legislators can become lobbyists, which brings the total down one to 19. In fact, legislators are specifically exempted from the state revolving door provision that applies to other public officials.

Posted Tuesday, August 29, 2006 1:35 PM
Clarification: In “Public Service, Personal Gain in Delaware,” published May 20, 2000, it was not stated that the Delaware Alternative Power Corp. has been inactive since 1992, years before Delaware Sen. Harris B. McDowell III’s Senate Energy committee was reviewing the state’s 1999 energy deregulation bill. The company, he said, never did any business in the state of Delaware. “I don’t do any business in Delaware, specifically to avoid a conflict,” McDowell said. He continued to list the Delaware Alternative Power Corp. on his annual financial disclosure report through 2001 in an effort “to err on the side of caution,” according to documents filed with the state’s Public Integrity Commission.

Posted Wednesday, June 14, 2006 3:33 PM
Clarification: In “Flouting the Rule on Lobbyist-Paid Travel,” posted June 12, Powell, Goldstein, Frazer and Murphy was described as a Washington lobby shop. It is also a law firm.

Posted Tuesday, June 06, 2006 7:30 PM
In “Top Gun of Travel,” published June 5, 2006, it was incorrectly stated that Rep. Howard McKeon, R-Calif., accepted a trip to Italy sponsored by General Atomics, because of a filing error by McKeon’s office. His staffer, Brandi Ballou took the trip.

Posted Monday, June 05, 2006 5:17 PM
In the chart “Who Are the Top Travelers?” published June 5, 2006, the sponsor of the trip of Rep. William Thomas (R-Calif.) was incorrectly listed as the Korea-U.S. Exchange Council/U.S.-Malaysia Exchange Assn. The sponsor was the American Enterprise Institute; Vail Valley Foundation.