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The London Telegraph has agreed to pay US first lady Melania Trump "substantial" damages after running an article in its magazine a week ago that it said included "a number of false statements" and shouldn't have been published.
The British newspaper said “The Mystery of Melania”, the cover story of the January 19th edition of its magazine, made erroneous claims about Ms Trump’s family and career. The article can no longer be found on its website.
In an explanation titled “Melania Trump – An Apology”, the newspaper wrote on Saturday that, contrary to what its previous article had stated, the first lady’s father was not “a fearsome presence and did not control the family”.
It also clarified that Ms Trump had left her studies in design and architecture at university because she wanted to pursue a career as a model, and not because of an exam.
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It also said the earlier article had inaccurately stated she was "struggling" as a model when she met Donald Trump, now the US president.
The apology also corrected statements made in the January 19th article on the timing of when she met Mr Trump, and when her family arrived in the US. It said the original article erroneously reported that Ms Trump cried the night her husband was elected president.
“We apologise unreservedly to the first lady and her family for any embarrassment caused by our publication of these allegations,” the apology said. “As a mark of our regret we have agreed to pay Ms Trump substantial damages as well as her legal costs.”
Melania Trump has previously taken aim at other journalists who have written about her family or experience growing up in Slovenia.
On her Facebook page, she regularly posts retractions that media outlets have made after reporting on her immigration status or other aspects of her life. She has also posted letters from her lawyers, challenging the accuracy of news stories. – Bloomberg