As word spread last Monday that Rush Limbaugh was part of a group bidding on the St. Louis Rams, CNN anchor Rick Sanchez reported that the king of talk radio had once said that slavery "had its merits. For one thing, the streets were safer after dark." At the same time, another racist Limbaugh soundbite was zipping around the Internet. Limbaugh, it was claimed, once said: "You know who deserves a posthumous Medal of Honor? James Earl Ray [the assassin of Martin Luther King]. We miss you, James. Godspeed." MSNBC's Rachel Maddow had cited that one on air in June.

Just one problem: These quotations were utter fabrications. The Media Research Center traced their origin to "pranksters who tampered with Limbaugh's Wikipedia page several years ago. .  .  . Recently, the [slavery] quote was cited by St. Louis Post-Dispatch sportswriter Bryan Burwell in an October 7 column about Limbaugh's joint effort to purchase the St. Louis Rams. Other sportswriters soon cited the quote as well, including Detroit Free Press columnist Drew Sharp writing in the October 12 USA Today."

Limbaugh promptly informed the media that the quotes were false, but news organizations were reluctant to retract and apologize. "We want to be fair to Rush," Sanchez said on Tuesday, before quoting Limbaugh's denial. "So, Rush Limbaugh is denying that that quote has come from him," Sanchez said, as if this were some he said/she said dispute.