Longtime Nightly News anchor Brian Williams has been suspended by NBC this week, sparking great debate in the media industry and among loyal viewers.
Williams' six-month suspension without pay from the popular news program comes after his admission to lying about his experience reporting on the early days of the Iraq War.
In 2003, only one year before starting as Nightly News anchor, Williams was reporting in Iraq and exaggerated his involvement in a devastating helicopter accident. Williams said he was on a helicopter that was shot down by a rocket-propelled grenade, even though he was on a different helicopter about 30 minutes away from the incident.
While it's unclear whether Williams intentionally embellished or simply misremembered the incident, his story was refuted by the helicopter's pilots in January 2015. Since his admission of guilt, truth-seekers are now questioning his past reporting on major events like Hurricane Katrina, while others have his back, saying his memory has been jogged over the past 12 years. Williams now plans to take some time off from the media to let the controversy diminish.
In a note to NBC News staff, Williams wrote "Upon my return, I will continue my career-long effort to be worthy of the trust of those who place their trust in us."
While Williams definitely isn't the first major influencer to be caught in a lie, the scandal definitely hurts his credibility a great deal. How does the incident make you feel?
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