WASHINGTON (AP) — The Washington Post didn't offer money to women in exchange for accusing Republican U.S. Senate candidate Roy Moore of abusing them, despite a series of widely-shared articles on social media.
The stories are based on posts from a Twitter user named Doug Lewis claiming "a family friend" of Lewis said she was offered $1000 by a Washington Post reporter identified only as "Beth" to accuse Moore of wrongdoing. The articles also say the conversation between the reporter and the woman was recorded, but no recording is included with the article. The Twitter account in question no longer exists.
Washington Post spokeswoman Kris Coratti says the allegations are "categorically false." She adds that the paper has "an explicit policy that prohibits paying sources."
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This is part of The Associated Press' ongoing effort to fact-check misinformation that is shared widely online, including work with Facebook to identify and reduce the circulation of false stories on the platform.
