The Independent was forced to delete an article Friday that falsely claimed that Florida Governor Ron DeSantis (R) met with Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas the day before the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade.

“A series of emails show Mr Thomas’s assistant corresponding with Diane Moulton on Mr DeSantis’s staff about setting up a lunch with Mr Thomas and four of his clerks,” the report said. “Ultimately, they decided to dine at the Supreme Court in the the Natalie Rehnquist Dining Room. On 24 June, the day after the luncheon, the court handed down its decision for Dobbs v Jackson Women’s Health Organization, which overturned the 1973 decision which enshrined the right to seek an abortion.”

However, left-wing reporter Eric Garcia did not check the dates on the emails, which showed the back-and-forth exchanges occurred last year, not this year.

DeSantis Deputy Press Secretary Jeremy Redfern called Garcia out on social media, writing: “Hey @EricMGarcia from the @Independent, Is June 23th, 2021 a day before June 24th, 2022?”

Hey @EricMGarcia from the @Independent,

Is June 23th, 2021 a day before June 24th, 2022? pic.twitter.com/VuvwsljSSD

— Jeremy Redfern (@JeremyRedfernFL) October 28, 2022

“I am legitimately so sorry. I was not trying to mislead. I am legitimately embarrassed and humiliated,” Garcia responded. “I never wanted to do anything malicious. I am so apologetic. I should have double-checked the dates.”

“We are taking the article down. I cannot apologize enough. I should have double-checked triple-checked dates,” he continued. “I am mortified and legitimately embarrassed. I want to thank @JeremyRedfernFL for flagging. And apologize to Governor DeSantis and Justice Thomas. This is a horrible error on my part.”

“The story is in the process of being retracted. I am just embarrassed as hell,” he concluded. “Words cannot describe how mortified I am. I try to be honest in my work. I don’t try to do gotcha journalism. I always hated that. I can never apologize enough.”

DeSantis campaign Rapid Response Director Christina Pushaw responded to Garcia’s report by writing: “And the implication is that Governor DeSantis, of all people, would try to pressure Clarence Thomas to change the outcome of a SCOTUS decision.”

“Which is patently absurd to anyone who has followed Governor DeSantis or Clarence Thomas for any amount of time,” she added.

New Twitter CEO Elon Musk said Friday that he would create a new content moderation group that will oversee all policy initiatives on the platform.

The news comes as Musk officially acquired the company Thursday evening for $54.20 per share in a deal that took six months to close, valued at $44 billion.

“Twitter will be forming a content moderation council with widely diverse viewpoints,” Musk tweeted. “No major content decisions or account reinstatements will happen before that council convenes.”

Twitter will be forming a content moderation council with widely diverse viewpoints.

No major content decisions or account reinstatements will happen before that council convenes.

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) October 28, 2022

Musk responded to another Twitter account about the issue of reinstating accounts that have been previously banned.

“Anyone suspended for minor & dubious reasons will be freed from Twitter jail,” Musk said.

Musk reportedly directed engineers from his electric car company Tesla, where he also serves as CEO, to take control of the social media company’s code away from Twitter’s engineers to evaluate potential changes to the system.

Musk also immediately fired leftist CEO Parag Agrawal, CFO Ned Segal, and Vijaya Gadde, head of legal policy, trust, and safety, The Washington Post reported. The report said Musk also fired the company’s general counsel, Sean Edgett, who was escorted out of the building.

Musk released a statement earlier on Thursday to advertisers explaining why he wanted to buy Twitter and ensuring them that they do not have to worry about Twitter becoming a “free-for-all hellscape.”

“I wanted to reach out personally to share my motivation in acquiring Twitter,” Musk wrote. “There has been much speculation about why I bought Twitter and what I think about advertising. Most of it has been wrong.”

“The reason I acquired Twitter is because it is important to the future of civilization to have a common digital town square, where a wide range of beliefs can be debated in a healthy manner, without resorting to violence,” Musk continued. “There is currently great danger that social media will splinter into far right wing and far left wing echo chambers that generate more hate and divide our society.”

“In the relentless pursuit of clicks, much of traditional media has fueled and catered to those polarized extremes, as they believe that is what brings in the money, but, in doing so, the opportunity for dialogue is lost,” Musk continued. “That is why I bought Twitter. I didn’t do it because it would be easy. I didn’t do it to make more money. I did it to try to help humanity, whom I love. And I do so with humility, recognizing that failure in pursuing this goal, despite our best efforts, is a very real possibility.”

“That said, Twitter obviously cannot become a free-for-all hellscape, where anything can be said with no consequences!” Musk concluded. “In addition to adhering to the laws of the land, our platform must be warm and welcoming to all, where you can choose your desired experience according to your preferences, just as you can choose, for example, to see movies or play video games ranging from all ages to mature.”