White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt thanked ABC News for updating a story about the FBI’s warning to California authorities about the possibility of Iran launching drone attacks against the West Coast. “The FBI has posted a fuller version of its alert to California authorities, which includes that the information was unverified. The latest version of this story has been updated with the full statement,” ABC News stated. “Thank you to ABC News for issuing a correction to this story. The problem? Their original, misleading story received 10M views and panicked people across the country. The correction only has 100K views. Fake News is real and it is dangerous. The Trump White House is working 24/7 to keep up with it all and fight back,” Leavitt said. Thank you to ABC News for issuing a correction to this story. The problem? Their original, misleading story received 10M views and panicked people across the country. The correction only has 100K views. Fake News is real and it is dangerous. The Trump White House is… https://t.co/LLffikNaae — Karoline Leavitt (@PressSec) March 13, 2026 Leavitt previously pushed back against the story, saying it should be “immediately retracted” for “providing false information to intentionally alarm the American people.” “False Information” – Karoline Leavitt Criticizes Report On FBI Alert About Possible Iran Drone Attack "This post and story should be immediately retracted by ABC News for providing false information to intentionally alarm the American people. They wrote this based on one email that was sent to local law enforcement in California about a single, unverified tip. The email even states the tip was based on *unverified* intelligence. Yet ABC News left out this critical fact in their story! WHY?" Leavitt said. "TO BE CLEAR: No such threat from Iran to our homeland exists, and it never did," she added. This post and story should be immediately retracted by ABC News for providing false information to intentionally alarm the American people. They wrote this based on one email that was sent to local law enforcement in California about a single, unverified tip. The email even… https://t.co/jKey9ahsNk — Karoline Leavitt (@PressSec) March 12, 2026 Leavitt shared a post from FBI Assistant Director for Public Affairs Ben Williamson. "On the left is the way ABC (or their source) reported the FBI alert. On the right is the actual FBI alert that went to JTFF partners. You will notice the word left out —'Unverified,'" Williamson wrote. The way ABC News originally reported the FBI alert: “We recently acquired information that as of early February 2026, Iran allegedly aspired to conduct a surprise attack using unmanned aerial vehicles from an unidentified vessel off the coast of the United State Homeland, specifically against unspecified targets in California, in the event that the US conducted strikes against Iran. We have no additional information on the timing, method, target, or perpetrators of this alleged attack." The alert that went to JTFF partners read: "We recently acquired unverified information that as of early February 2026, Iran allegedly aspired to conduct a surprise attack using Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) from an unidentified vessel off the coast of the United States homeland, specifically against unspecified targets in California, in the event the U.S. conducted strikes against Iran. We have no additional information on the timing, method, target, or perpetrators of this alleged attack." On the left is the way ABC (or their source) reported the FBI alert. On the right is the actual FBI alert that went to JTFF partners. You will notice the word left out —“Unverified.” https://t.co/zSBHObisAI pic.twitter.com/XEZPeNKmDA — Ben Williamson (@_WilliamsonBen) March 12, 2026 A closer look: ABC News wrote: Asked about the alert sent to California police, President Donald Trump said Wednesday: "It's being investigated. But you have a lot of things happening, and all we can do is take them as they come, and the war itself is being prosecuted as well as anybody has ever seen." U.S. intelligence officials have also grown concerned in recent months about the expanding use of drones by Mexican drug cartels and the chance the technology could be used to attack American forces and personnel near the Mexican border. "An uncorroborated report suggested that unidentified Mexican cartel leaders had authorized attacks using UAS (drones) carrying explosives against US law enforcement and US military personnel along the US-Mexico border," according to a September 2025 bulletin reviewed by ABC News. "This type of attack against US personnel or interests inside the United States would be unprecedented but exemplifies a plausible scenario, although (cartels) typically avoid actions that would result in unwanted attention or responses from US authorities." California Gov. Gavin Newsom's office told ABC News: "The Governor's Office of Emergency Services is actively working with state, local and federal security officials to protect our communities." And the LA Sheriff's Department said that "in light of current global events" it is maintaining an "elevated level of readiness." "Out of an abundance of caution, and in recognition of current religious observances, the Department has continued increased patrols around places of worship, cultural institutions, and other prominent locations throughout the County," the department said in a statement. "We have proactively reviewed our deployment plans, enhanced coordination with our patrol stations, and ensured that additional resources are available should they be needed."