Is this the nerdiest New York Times correction ever?

Is this the nerdiest New York Times correction ever?

Earlier today, The New York Times' @NYTArchives Twitter account pulled out a special treat for Star Wars fans: a 1976 profile of George Lucas that ran more than six months before the original Star Wars hit theaters.

But a few eagle-eyed readers noticed a problem with the story: a caption on a picture of Chewbacca, being escorted by two Imperial Stormtroopers, that referred to the Stromtroopers as "robots."

Faced with such a humiliating error, the paper did the right thing and issued an impressively detailed correction — even taking into account the revelations of 2002's Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones:

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up
See more

It took almost 40 years, but never let it be said that The Grey Lady won't admit its mistakes.

Continue reading for free

We hope you're enjoying The Week's refreshingly open-minded journalism.

Subscribed to The Week? Register your account with the same email as your subscription.

Scott Meslow

Scott Meslow is the entertainment editor for TheWeek.com. He has written about film and television at publications including The Atlantic, POLITICO Magazine, and Vulture.