All corrections
Wikipedia July 28, 2026 at 11:07 PM

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Maxwell

5 corrections found

1
Claim
In 1989 he had to sell successful businesses, including Pergamon Press, to cover some of his debts.
Correction

This is off by two years: Pergamon Press was sold in March 1991, not 1989.

Full reasoning

This sentence says Maxwell sold Pergamon Press in 1989, but contemporary reporting shows the sale happened in 1991.

A March 29, 1991 Los Angeles Times report states that Robert Maxwell agreed to sell Pergamon Press to Elsevier for 440 million pounds ($768 million). The article explicitly dates the sale to March 1991.

Because Pergamon is named specifically in this sentence, the date matters: saying he sold it in 1989 is incorrect.

2 sources
2
Claim
was arrested and charged in New Hampshire with six federal crimes
Correction

She was arrested in New Hampshire, but the charges were brought in Manhattan federal court by the Southern District of New York.

Full reasoning

This wording conflates the place of arrest with the place of charging.

The Justice Department announcement says Ghislaine Maxwell was "Charged In Manhattan Federal Court" by the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York. The same announcement says she was arrested and was expected to be presented in federal court in New Hampshire.

So it is accurate to say she was arrested in New Hampshire, but inaccurate to say she was charged in New Hampshire. The charges were brought in Manhattan federal court / the Southern District of New York.

2 sources
3
Claim
That same year, he launched an ambitious new project, a transnational newspaper called The European.
Correction

This date is wrong: The European was launched in May 1990, not in 1988.

Full reasoning

The sentence refers back to 1988 (the year Maxwell bought Macmillan) and says that "that same year" he launched The European. But contemporary coverage shows The European debuted in May 1990.

A Washington Post report from May 2, 1990 said Maxwell would launch The European eight days later, and a Los Angeles Times report from May 11, 1990 says he launched the first edition that day.

So the launch date given here is incorrect by about two years.

2 sources
4
Claim
just before his birth (1919)
Correction

The year in parentheses is wrong: Robert Maxwell was born on June 10, 1923, not in 1919.

Full reasoning

This parenthetical date is inconsistent with the documented birth date of Robert Maxwell.

Official parliamentary records list Robert Maxwell's birth date as June 10, 1923. The History of Parliament also lists him as MAXWELL, Robert (1923–1991).

So the phrase "just before his birth (1919)" is incorrect: 1919 was four years before his birth, not just before it.

2 sources
5
Claim
he used some of this money to buy an ailing tabloid, the New York Daily News
Correction

The timeline is backwards: Maxwell had already agreed to buy the New York Daily News before he sold Pergamon Press.

Full reasoning

This sentence says Maxwell used money from the Pergamon sale to buy the New York Daily News, but the dates run the other way.

Contemporary reports show Maxwell signed a final agreement to buy the New York Daily News on March 14, 1991 (reported March 15). He announced the sale of Pergamon Press on March 28, 1991. A UPI report on the Pergamon sale even refers to the Daily News as his "newly acquired New York tabloid."

So the article's sequence is incorrect: the Daily News acquisition preceded the Pergamon sale, not vice versa.

2 sources
Model: OPENAI_GPT_5 Prompt: v1.16.0