NPR on Tuesday published a story stating that U.S. Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito was retiring. The story was then removed from the website within minutes and replaced with a retraction notice.
No announcement of retirement has been made by Justice Alito or the Court.
The article was written by NPR Supreme Court and legal affairs correspondent Nina Totenberg. It measured nearly 1,200 words and appeared briefly on NPR’s homepage.
Publication occurred on the morning of the final day of the Supreme Court’s term, shortly after the Court released several of its remaining opinions. The story referenced a purported “court announcement” of the retirement and included details about Justice Alito’s service on the Court since his 2006 appointment by President George W. Bush.
It noted his authorship of the majority opinion in the 2022 case Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, which overturned Roe v. Wade, along with his positions in other areas of law.
One version of the story carried a headline that included the phrasing “Justice Samuel Alito, who wrote the opinion overturning Roe v. Wade, retires.” The opening paragraph cited a non-existent Court announcement regarding the retirement. The story was later described by multiple outlets as having been published in error.
NPR removed the full article and replaced the page with the following editor’s note:
“Editor’s note: Earlier today, we erroneously published a story saying that Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito was retiring. Neither Alito nor the court’s public information office has announced his retirement, and we have retracted the story.”
NPR Editor-in-Chief Thomas Evans provided additional details in a follow-up statement.
“Due to a misunderstanding, NPR’s Supreme Court and Legal Affairs Correspondent Nina Totenberg incorrectly reported that Justice Samuel Alito had retired. Neither Justice Alito nor the Supreme Court Public Information Office has announced his retirement. As soon as the error was realized, the story was retracted and removed from NPR’s website and an on-air correction was broadcast,” he said.
“We regret the error and any confusion this may have caused. This afternoon, Mrs. Totenberg will appear on All Things Considered to explain what happened. She has reached out to Justice Alito to apologize.”
A spokesperson for the Supreme Court, Public Information Officer Patricia McCabe, addressed the report directly. “NPR’s reporting regarding Justice Alito is inaccurate. And their reporting that there was any kind of court statement is inaccurate.”
NPR broadcast an on-air correction following the removal of the story. Totenberg was scheduled to discuss the incident during the afternoon broadcast of All Things Considered. She also contacted Justice Alito’s office to apologize.
Justice Alito has not announced any retirement, and the Supreme Court’s public information office has confirmed that no such announcement was issued. All available statements from NPR and the Court establish that the published story was inaccurate and has been formally retracted.
