Fact-Checker resigns after falsely claiming that the ICE employee had the Nazi tattoo



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Last week, Immigration and Customs Enforcement asked for an apology after New Yorker fact checker Talia Lavin mistakenly accused of computer forensic analyst Justin Gaertner to have a Nazi tattoo. They have recently had more than that. Lavin has resigned from his employer, and has apologized for the mess. Even so, she called ICE for the terms under which this happened.

"I owe the ICE officer, Justin Gaertner, a sincere apology for spreading a rumor about her tattoo," she added. wrote Thursday. "However, I do not think it's acceptable for a federal agency to target a private citizen for good faith, error rectified in a hurry."

She said that the agency had lied about her claiming that she had drawn attention to Gaertner's tattoo, that she had misspelled her name "Levin" and that she She had done her job badly. She cited the attention that this story has had on the outlets as the curator National Review, Daily caller, NY Post, and Daily mail. Nevertheless, she wrote that she "had become a weapon used to discredit my colleagues and the vital work that they do to be accountable". resigned.

The agency first posted a photo of Gaertner on Twitter last Monday, and some, including Lavin, thought he had an Iron Cross tattoo on his left arm.

Lavin finally deleted his original tweet about it. According to her, some veterans m said This "looked more like a Maltese cross" than the common iron cross among the white supremacists.

This was not enough for the agency. ICE continued to push back the "attack"On Gaertner, emphasized his service as a US Navy injured combat, and said the tattoo in question was" Titan 2 ", the symbol of his platoon in Afghanistan.

"Anyone trying to advance his personal political views by basely slandering an American hero should make a public apology to Mr. Gaertner and retractations," he said. declaration from ICE. Law and Crime contacted an ICE spokesman on Sunday about the resignation of Lavin and his critics, and we only received their original statement, which was attributed to the press secretary of the I & # 39; 39; ICE Jennifer Elzea. The spokesman declined to specifically comment on Lavin's resignation and criticism.

The story of Lavin's mistake has spread through conservative media.

The wine reiterated his apologies to Gaertner on Saturday night, writing "all I saw in you was the ICE photo tweeted, and not the human being depicted inside." It was ungenerous, and the hasty removal do not change that. "

She continued to lament the terms in which she resigned, however, and wrote that most of the mistakes people make are in good faith. It cools the freedom of expression to be attacked for an error committed by a federal agency and its "obedient propaganda apparatus" it wrote. Journalism accompanied by low job security and government pressure may cause journalists to avoid risks. fearing punishment.

Note: Update reflecting that ICE responded to a request for comment.

[Image via ICE]

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