"Indeed, “breaking news” is a tremendous problem for mainstream outlets in which they frequently end up propagating “fake news” in their rush to be the first to break a story. In a world beset by false and misleading news, do top tier news outlets have a professional responsibility to step back from breaking stories and only report on them after all details are known and they have had an opportunity to speak with all parties involved and understand more definitively what has happened? Financially this would likely be devastating in a share-first click-first world in which to the victor go the advertising dollars, but it would seem the only way to truly stop “fake news” from spreading."

The WaPo could have and should have addressed this much more quickly and appropriately. The fact that this broke over the holiday period isn't a sufficient excuse. If the resources aren't there to research and report it fully, risk being scooped versus having large errors of commission and omission.

One general lesson that should have been learned a long time ago in the internet age is that the writers of articles should be given veto power over headlines. If they can't work it out with the headline writer, it goes to a more senior editor. Misleading headlines have become the order of the day in a clickbaity world, and the WaPo should lead the way in getting that fixed.

They dropped the ball here, and if they haven't already done so, they should address it with a mea culpa on their editorial page, not just with a belated clarification/correction. The role of media is more vitally important than ever. Self-criticism is vitally important as well.