Suspended for fake Disney abduction

Israel’s Channel 10 suspended reporter Sivan Cohen after she reported an urban legend about a nine-year-old girl’s abduction at Disney World as fact.

During Sunday’s main evening news broadcast, Cohen reported that the father of an Israeli girl had confirmed that she was abducted in Orlando, Florida, over the Passover holiday, while she was waiting on a line in Disney World theme park. She said that the parents notified Disney’s security officers, who locked down the park until the girl was located using security cameras.

Cohen’s report stated that the girl was found in one of the park’s rest rooms, drugged with a half-shaved head, but is now doing well and does not remember the incident.

Cohen also reported that the girl’s parents were considering suing Disney World over the kidnapping.

Channel 10 did not discover that the story was in fact an urban legend until Monday morning, long after many Israeli news outlets had already picked up and published it too.

Channel 10 published a retraction on its website: “The decision to publish the story was due to the existence of a parent who confirmed the story. However, after publication, it emerged that the parent had misled the Channel 10 reporter, and such an incident never happened. Consequently the company open a comprehensive investigation into the circumstances of publication, and has suspended the reporter until the conclusion of the investigation.”

The abduction hoax is apparently well-known in the United States, but Israeli news outlets had not heard of it.

Cohen told Yedioth Ahronoth on Monday in response: “I spoke with the father and he claimed that the story was true, and was filmed and recorded. Since yesterday was Sunday and we knew that there was no one to answer at Disney, we discussed it at the studio and we attributed the allegations to the father.”

She continued, “I respect the station’s decision to suspend me. The investigation is necessary, and I hope things work out for the best.”