The Times Square Bomber: What we thought we knew

As the story of the failed Times Square bombing has unfolded, a number of theories and even purported facts have fallen by the wayside: The bomber was a “lone wolf.” Or maybe he was actually trained in Pakistan.  The bomber was a “white male.” Or a light-skinned South Asian.  The guy taking off his shirt ...

By , a former associate editor at Foreign Policy.
TIMOTHY A. CLARY/AFP/Getty Images
TIMOTHY A. CLARY/AFP/Getty Images
TIMOTHY A. CLARY/AFP/Getty Images

As the story of the failed Times Square bombing has unfolded, a number of theories and even purported facts have fallen by the wayside:

As the story of the failed Times Square bombing has unfolded, a number of theories and even purported facts have fallen by the wayside:

These are just off the top of my head. Readers are invited to add any others that I missed.

Moral of the story: more reporting in the wake of an event like this doesn’t necessarily mean more reliable information. Take it all with a grain of salt.  

    Joshua Keating was an associate editor at Foreign Policy. Twitter: @joshuakeating

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