The initial report from ABC News investigative reporter Brian Ross, which aired during the “Special Report” program at about 11am on Friday, stated that an anonymous source told the reporter a close associate of Flynn was ready to testify that Trump had “directed him to make contact with the Russians” during the 2016 presidential campaign.
Ross later corrected the report on ABC News’ Friday night edition of “World News Tonight,” telling audiences that the source who had provided the initial information told him later on that President Trump was actually president-elect when he asked Flynn to contact Russia.
ABC News subsequently reported that then-President Elect Trump ordered Flynn to contact Russia in order to find ways to repair relations between the two countries.
In any event, the news appeared to have done some damage, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average plummeting more than 350 points. It recovered by the end of the day.
Unfortunately for ABC, that wasn’t the end of the fallout from the faulty reporting: Twitter later erupted in reaction to the initial report.