Axios issues apology after incorrectly reporting Sanders suspended his 2020 campaign

Axios issued an apology Wednesday after incorrectly reporting that Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) suspended his presidential campaign.

Axios editor-in-chief Nicholas Johnston said the story, which sent shockwaves online, was published due to a breakdown in Axios’s editorial process as the outlet adjusts to its staff working remotely.

“Our incorrect report on the Sanders campaign was a big error and we apologize,” said Johnston. “This not an excuse but the reality: our process for full approval in a fully remote newsroom broke down. That has been fixed and we are prominently correcting, and taking responsibility, for the error.” 

Statement regarding earlier Axios story: pic.twitter.com/q4Vd8ZgBcK

— Nicholas Johnston (@AxiosNick) March 18, 2020

The story, which was published Wednesday morning, said Sanders was suspending his campaign for the Democratic nomination after getting swept in the Arizona, Florida and Illinois primaries by former Vice President Joe Biden on Tuesday night. 

Mike Casca, a top spokesman for Sanders’s campaign, swiftly said the story was “absolutely false.”

While the Axios piece was corrected, the original version including the error remained up on Apple News.

Uh, that Axios story on Bernie suspending his campaign is still on Apple News… pic.twitter.com/KqQ4KdbjqW

— Brittany L. Shepherd (@brittanys) March 18, 2020

Sanders is assessing his campaign after the three stinging defeats Tuesday and speculation is swirling on whether he will drop out of the race or keep up his campaign to try to push Biden to the left.

“The next primary contest is three weeks away,” Sanders’s campaign manager, Faiz Shakir, said in a statement. “Sen. Sanders is going to be having conversations with his supporters to assess his campaign.”