New York Post Sued Over Falsely Implicated Boston Bombing ‘Bag Men’

In the aftermath of the Boston Marathon bombing, the New York Post‘s “Bag Men” cover attracted a lot of attention and subsequent backlash when it was revealed the men featured on the controversial cover were not linked with the attack — and now those men, one a minor, are suing the tabloid for the implication they may have been involved in the crime.

The April 18 article has prompted a defamation suit after the headline “BAG MEN” ran alongside Marathon stills depicting attendees Salaheddin Barhoum, 16, and Yassine Zaimi, 24. The men are both runners and were simply present at the event, yet the cover caused them considerable unwanted public scrutiny before the apprehension and death of Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, 19, and brother Tamerlan Tsarnaev, 26, respectively.

The suit against the New York Post was filed this week in Massachusetts Superior Court in Boston, outlining the complaints of Barhoum and Zaimi and stating in part:

“In various headlines, articles and images, the newspaper stated or implied that the plaintiffs were the perpetrators of the bombing; that they were suspects in the bombing; that they were being sought by law enforcement; and that photographs of them were being circulated by law enforcement officials. None of these statements were true.”

The complaint also states:

“The plaintiffs were not suspects and were not being sought by law enforcement. The Post had no basis whatsoever to suggest that they were, especially in light of a warning on Wednesday to the news media, by federal authorities, to exercise caution in reporting about this very matter. In fact, law enforcement authorities had then focused their investigation on two suspects who were not the plaintiffs.”

The Post‘s “Bag Men” cover was one of a few erroneous and reactionary media accounts that prompted the FBI to issue a rare statement urging media restraint in the reporting, with widespread sharing of images on social media sites like Reddit complicating the investigation and ultimately leading to a rushed capture and lockdown of the city of Boston in the wake of the reports.

The FBI said in the statement:

“Contrary to widespread reporting, no arrest has been made in connection with the Boston Marathon attack. Over the past day and a half, there have been a number of press reports based on information from unofficial sources that has been inaccurate. Since these stories often have unintended consequences, we ask the media, particularly at this early stage of the investigation, to exercise caution and attempt to verify information through appropriate official channels before reporting.”

After the “Bag Men” article for which the Post is being sued originally ran, the men implicated say that they suffered considerable media harassment as well as anxiety and stress in their personal lives.