Media

New York Post deletes story alleging Kamala Harris book given to migrant children

by Dominick Mastrangelo - 04/27/21 2:11 PM ET

The New York Post has removed a story from its website that suggested copies of a book by Vice President Harris were given to migrant children who have crossed the border in “welcome kits.”

A link to the story, which was published last week and promoted on the tabloid’s cover, now re-directs to the newspaper’s website.

Several Republican politicians and political figures promoted the story, which went viral.

“After learning officials are handing out Kamala Harris’ book to migrants in facilities at the border, it’s worth asking… Was Harris paid for these books? Is she profiting from Biden’s border crisis?” asked Republican National Committee Chairwoman Ronna Romney McDaniel in a tweet on Monday.

A Washington Post fact check of the claim rated it to be false, awarding the story four “Pinocchios” out of a possible five.

“This is a good example of how misinformation spreads on right-wing media and gets amplified by Republican leaders,” The Post wrote while debunking the claim. “The New York Post reported that Harris’s book was being included in ‘welcome kits’ for migrant children arriving in Long Beach’s shelter. Fox News repeated the claim, attributing it to ‘photographs.’”

There was only one photograph, the fact checkers found, and it was of a single copy of Harris’s book “Superheroes are Everywhere” that was donated.

The link to the nonsense New York Post story about the Harris book is no longer working; it now just redirects to their home page. (Again, this was their cover story — that flatly asserted Harris’s book was being given out “illegally.”) https://t.co/6BfvJGlYiT

— Daniel Dale (@ddale8) April 27, 2021

The New York Post briefly took down two of its stories about the debunked claims (the links currently redirect to the Post’s homepage). A spokesperson for the paper tells us the stories will go back up with an editor’s note soon.https://t.co/qV5Rj55m6A https://t.co/cloYIUcpUc

— Max Tani (@maxwelltani) April 27, 2021

Fox News White House reporter Peter Doocy asked White House press secretary Jen Psaki about the report during a briefing with the media on Monday.

“There was a report in the last couple of days in the New York Post that every migrant child being brought to a shelter is being given a copy of her children’s book, ‘Superheroes are Everywhere.’ Do you know why that is and if she is making any money off of that?” Doocy asked Psaki.

“I’d have to check with our Health and Human Services team,” Psaki responded. “I’d have to certainly check on that. I hear it’s a good book.”

Tags Fox News Jen Psaki New York Post Ronna McDaniel U.S.-Mexico border crisis