Fox News deletes a story about the Norcal woman who died in Afghanistan

A Fox News story about a Northern California woman who died while serving with the Marine Corps in Afghanistan has been deleted without any explanation. The story appeared on the Fox News website on July 25 and was headlined, “Family Forced to Pay to Ship Murdered Marine’s Body After Pentagon Policy Change: Grave Injustice.”

The story details what the Marine Sergeant’s family was like. Nicole G of Roseville, California allegedly had to pay out of pocket to have her body transported to Arlington National Cemetery after she was killed in Afghanistan. “The Ji family was able to secure funding, amounting to $60,000, to transport the body of one of their loved ones, after a non-profit organization intervened to cover the cost,” the article said. The information was attributed to Republican Representative Corey Mills of Florida, who described the incident as “an unacceptable situation that requires immediate correction.”

But according to Investigation by Military.com, who spoke with the Gee family, did not have to pay out of pocket to bury the Gee in Arlington. The outlet obtained emails that showed the Marine Corps contacted Fox after publication requesting that the entire story be retracted.

“Exploiting the grief of a family member of a fallen Marine to score cheap tap points is disgusting,” Marine Corps spokesman Maj. James Stinger wrote in one of the emails reviewed by Military.com.

Screenshots retrieved by the Wayback Machine showing Fox News I changed the address to “family shouldering the burden to transport the body of a Marine killed in Afghanistan, says GOP representative” in the days following publication. Again, a Marine Corps spokesperson reportedly sent an email demanding a retraction.

“This headline correction is still misleading and your story is still false,” Stinger wrote.

The story now It leads to a 404 error message. A complete retraction of a story is highly unusual in journalism, and best ethical practices usually state that an organization should not remove a story because it leads to an error page without any context for the reader; Instead, the original article should be replaced with an explanation of why the story was deleted.

A was also deleted Posted on the Mills website Which relates to a Fox News story. He has since issued a statement on social media. “I understand that Sergeant Nicole G’s family, at the time of their grief, were at a loss as to the procedures for the transfer,” the letter read. “I am grateful that our Victims Honors Program was able to help the family and that our family is safe [Department of Defense] He was able to provide clarifications on this matter.”

For its part, Fox News apologized in a CNN statement. “The unpublished story was processed internally, and we deeply apologize to the G family,” a Fox News spokesperson said.

J enlisted in the Marine Corps in 2017 and deployed to Afghanistan as part of the Women’s Engagement Team to assist in the evacuation of women and children. And in August 2021, she was killed along with 12 others in an attack on Kabul airport.

In a eulogy he read, her father wrote: “Grief is something we will live with for the rest of our lives.” G’s memorial service in Roseville. “This will become our new normal. I also wear my sadness with pride. Sadness means I have loved.”