In 1993, NBC apologized for fabricating a fiery test accident of a GM pickup vehicle for "Dateline NBC" and agreed to settle a defamation suit that the automaker filed.

According to the

Los Angeles Times

, NBC News' then-co-anchors Jane Pauley and Stone Phillips apologized for including the inappropriate segment in their "Dateline" story, noting that unscientific demonstrations had no place in NBC's serious news.

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Part of a settlement

The apology was part of a settlement of a lawsuit GM filed over the material used in a Nov. 17 "Dateline" episode. NBC used incendiary devices to ensure a fire if fuel poured from a truck struck by another vehicle.

For background, the 15-minute broadcast was meant to address critics' claims that GM's 1973-1987 full-size pickup trucks were unsafe because of the location of their gas tanks on the flanks of the vehicle. GM denied any safety issues.

Troubling times for NBC, a win for GM

NBC's official apology reversed statements the network previously made defending the Nov. 17 broadcast. It was the latest in a series of setbacks faced by the network, which was experiencing financial troubles at the time.

Most notably was the loss of some of its prime-time lineup, including David Letterman, to rival network CBS.

In 1993, NBC ranked third among major television networks following ratings drops. This fabricated news segment didn't help.

Many of the network's reporters and producers interviewed by the L.A. Times were embarrassed by the snafu, with media experts (perhaps rightfully) criticizing it as unethical, though they conceded the report was otherwise well-rounded and accurate.

NBC's apology was a win for GM as it battled a potentially large liability concern; at the time, GM was facing lawsuits from relatives of those killed in crashes involving the trucks in question in what the U.S. Department of Transportation considered the worst auto crash fire

defect

in its history.

GM still sued NBC for slander, claiming the network staged the crash to depict GM pickups as prone to side-impact explosions (which they were, just not in this case). They asserted that NBC was attempting to orchestrate the test crash to unjustly alter public opinion about GM's pickups.

The automaker filed its lawsuit less than a week after an Atlanta jury awarded $105.2 million to Thomas and Elaine Moseley, whose son died when his GM pickup exploded after an accident.

The jury ruled the vehicle manufacturer negligent—which is good because, at the time, the Center for Auto Safety attributed 300 deaths to the defective trucks

Where are they now?

Both GM and NBC are generally fine today. Dateline is still in production, and GM has one of the most popular trucks in the U.S. though it's still dealing with fires—most recently with the

Chevy Bolt EV

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