The problem, as you know, is that the story appeared with a large type headling on their front page. The statement that they lied, appeared hours later after millions of people shared or forwarded the story. The admission that they lied will have appeared on page 11-c, below the fold in small type.
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I had a friend in college who worked in a large college newspaper.
He told me about the Inverse Pyramid.
Inverted pyramid (journalism) - Wikipedia
That is actually a very poor article about it, because it leaves out the very high percentage of the readers that do not finish the article.
Thus burying important information, down the story, is hiding it from the majority of the readers.
Inverted Pyramid: Writing for Comprehension
(all the examples I'M finding are focusing on the changes caused by the Web)
"This writing style gets to the point quickly and
supports all types of readers. Even those who have the
time or inclination to read only a single paragraph, or even single sentence will still know what the story is about. The inverted pyramid also helps editors when they need to cut a piece at a certain length to fit a publication: if the paragraphs get less and less important as you advance in the article, the
article can easily be trimmed at practically any point."
Here is a really informative picture.
F-Shaped Pattern of Reading on the Web: Misunderstood, But Still Relevant (Even on Mobile)
The point is, that burying the important information, is not a mistake. The reporters and their editors know what they are doing.
That you laughed it off, is you being tricked. They are laughing at you, because they know they can lie to you, and if caught you will swallow their bullshit excuse.
They think you are stupid.