ABC’s Response on Iran Drone ‘Threat’ Story Raises More Questions Than It Answers – RedState
The media are not covering themselves in glory this week, nor on the Iranian question.
I wrote earlier about ABC’s story on the alleged drone threat from Iran to California. But as White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt explained, ABC left out something pretty vital in this story. The broadcast alert, which ABC claimed to be referring to, stated that the information was “unverified”.
FBI Assistant Director for Public Affairs Ben Williamson agreed and issued the alert over what ABC published. The word “unverified” appeared in the original alert.
On the left is how ABC (or its source) reported the FBI alert.
On the right is the actual FBI alert sent to JTFF partners.
You’ll notice the word left out: “Not verified.” https://t.co/zSBHObisAI pic.twitter.com/XEZPeNKmDA
– Ben Williamson (@_WilliamsonBen) March 12, 2026
READ MORE: Boom: Karoline Leavitt Drops Receipts on ABC Over Their Shameful Story About Iranian Drone Threat
FBI now warns Iran of planned drone attack on California in retaliation for US strikes
Today, ABC has spoken out and its response raises further questions. Look at that wording – it’s quite something.
LATEST: The FBI warned police departments in California that Iran could retaliate for U.S. attacks by launching drones on the West Coast, according to an alert reviewed by ABC News on Wednesday. On Thursday, the FBI released a more complete version of the alert, saying the information was unverified.
LATEST: The FBI warned police departments in California that Iran could retaliate for U.S. attacks by launching drones on the West Coast, according to an alert reviewed by ABC News on Wednesday. On Thursday, the FBI released a more comprehensive version of the alert, which said… pic.twitter.com/1cuvednyni
– ABC News Politics (@ABCPolitics) March 12, 2026
They said the FBI released a “full version of the alert” on Thursday.
No, that’s not what the FBI said/did. They posted what the original alert said: “unverified.” They weren’t posting a “full version” – they were posting what was originally sent, as they said.
ABC did not explain why, in its citation of what the FBI said in the initial alert, the “unverified” part was left out. They act like they’ve never seen him. Did they know he was there and not include him, or were they perhaps misled by whoever leaked the alert (which was not supposed to be given to the press)? Who did they get this information from? They interestingly note that the California Governor’s office was one of the locations/agencies notified by the FBI.
Additionally, while they mention Ben Williamson’s FBI tweet in their 3:46 p.m. tweet/report, they don’t mention Karoline Leavitt taking them to task, calling on them to take down the story, even though she posted Thursday morning. She explained that the information came from a single, unverified piece of information.
This post and story should be immediately removed by ABC News for providing false information intended to intentionally alarm the American people.
They wrote this based on an email sent to local law enforcement in California about a single unverified tip. The email even states that the trick was based on *unverified* information. Yet ABC News omitted this critical fact from its article! FOR WHAT?
TO BE CLEAR: No such threat from Iran to our homeland exists, and never has.
This post and story should be immediately removed by ABC News for providing false information intended to intentionally alarm the American people.
They wrote this based on an email sent to local law enforcement in California about a single unverified tip. The email itself… https://t.co/jKey9ahsNk
– Karoline Leavitt (@PressSec) March 12, 2026
Will they just ignore this? ABC must be clear.
They note one important thing in their tweet: that there is “no imminent threat here” and that the administration has said that U.S. and Israeli attacks on Iran have seriously degraded the Iranian regime’s capabilities. Great. Can you go back to your story now?
Editor’s note: Do you like RedState’s conservative reporting that attacks the radical left and woke media? Support our work so we can continue to bring you the truth.
Join RedState VIP and use promo code STRUGGLE to benefit from 60% off your VIP subscription!
