CNN Flunks Geography: IDs Pennsylvania as New York

June 9th, 2015 11:34 AM

CNN's New Day stumbled on Tuesday as it covered the ongoing manhunt for two fugitives who escaped from a prison in New York State. An on-screen map incorrectly identified Pennsylvania as New York, as correspondent Polo Sandoval underlined that "the fugitives could be anywhere from New York's North Country up to Canada, or even south into Mexico." [video below]

This isn't the first graphical misstep by the network in 2015. Back in February, anchor Carol Costello gave an on-air apology for a chyron that "mistakenly said, 'Obama considers arming pro-U.S. troops.'" Costello pointed out that "the debate in Western capitals is actually about whether the United States and other NATO countries should send arms to the Ukrainian military...certainly not 'pro-U.S. troops.' I regret that error."

CNN has also made geographical errors in the past. In February 2010, as the network covered the 8.8 magnitude earthquake and resulting tsunami off the coast of Chile, then-anchor Rick Sanchez mistakenly identified the Galapagos Islands as Hawaii.

Over a year earlier, in October 2008, an on-screen map erroneously shaded Florida blue during a report from correspondent John King, indicating that Al Gore won the Sunshine State in 2000, instead of George W. Bush.