People walk by the ABC Headquarters in Atlanta, Georgia, on Feb. 24, 2010 (Spencer Platt / Getty Images)
By Jason Cohen March 16, 2026 at 6:20pm
ABC News’ Wednesday report on an alleged Iranian drone threat to California did not initially include that the information was “unverified.”
“We recently acquired information that as of early February 2026, Iran allegedly aspired to conduct a surprise attack using unmanned aerial vehicles from an unidentified vessel off the coast of the United State Homeland, specifically against unspecified targets in California, in the event that the US conducted strikes against Iran,” ABC News reported the late February alert stated.
However, the outlet noted in an updated version of the article on Thursday — which included an editor’s note — that the full alert reportedly included the word “unverified” between “acquired” and “information.”
On the left is the way ABC (or their source) reported the FBI alert.
On the right is the actual FBI alert that went to JTFF partners.
You will notice the word left out —“Unverified.” https://t.co/zSBHObisAI pic.twitter.com/XEZPeNKmDA
— Ben Williamson (@_WilliamsonBen) March 12, 2026
“The FBI has posted a fuller version of its alert to California authorities, which includes that the information was unverified,” ABC News’ Wednesday editor’s note stated.
“The latest version of this story has been updated with the full statement.”
A screenshot posted by FBI spokesman Ben Williamson on X Thursday highlighted the discrepancy, noting that either ABC News or its source reported the FBI alert without the crucial word.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt also urged an immediate retraction from ABC News in a Thursday X post.
“This post and story should be immediately retracted by ABC News for providing false information to intentionally alarm the American people. They wrote this based on one email that was sent to local law enforcement in California about a single, unverified tip,” Leavitt wrote.
“The email even states the tip was based on *unverified* intelligence. Yet ABC News left out this critical fact in their story! WHY? TO BE CLEAR: No such threat from Iran to our homeland exists, and it never did.”
Moreover, Democratic California Gov. Gavin Newsom posted on X Wednesday that his administration was “not aware of any imminent threats at this time.”
The United States military launched targeted strikes on Feb. 28 against the Islamic Republic of Iran after an escalation of tensions and an apparent breakdown in diplomatic negotiations.
The conflict between the two countries remains ongoing as of Thursday.
ABC News did not respond to the Daily Caller News Foundation’s request for comment.
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