AP Buries The Lead

Yesterday, we linked to an Associated Press story titled, “Mass Shootings More Common Since 1960s”. Newsbusters notes that the real story is buried nine paragraphs in:

“Duwe found that the prevalence of mass murders, defined as the killing of four or more people in a 24-hour period, tends to mirror that of homicide generally. The increase in mass killings during the 1960s was accompanied by a doubling in the overall murder rate after the relatively peaceful 1940s and ’50s.

“In fact, Duwe found that mass murder was just as common during the 1920s and early 1930s as it is today.”

As Newsbusters notes:

Unfortunately, as a Google search will reveal, hundreds of news outlets have carried this AP story. Only a handful of the readers will realize that paragraphs nine and ten of the article establish that the rest of the article is a fact-free recitation of false premises.

Just the way AP wants it.