National Enquirer

===2000s===
====Anthrax attack====
In 2001 in [[Boca Raton]], Florida, [[Robert Stevens (photo editor)|Bob Stevens]]—a photo editor at [[Sun (supermarket tabloid)|''Sun'']], a sister publication under the ''National Enquirer''{{'}}s parent company, [[American Media, Inc.|AMI]]—was exposed to a letter with [[anthrax]] spores and was the first person to die as a result of the [[2001 anthrax attacks]]. The entire AMI office complex in Boca Raton was closed, and remained fenced off for two years after the attack; AMI moved its headquarters to another building in Boca Raton.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.fas.org:80/bwc/news/anthraxreport.htm|title=Analysis of Anthrax Attacks|last=Hatch Rosenberg|first=Barbara|website=Federation of American Scientists|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20051107005341/http://www.fas.org/bwc/news/anthraxreport.htm|archive-date=November 7, 2005|url-status=dead|access-date=May 5, 2017}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2001/10/06/us/florida-man-dies-of-rare-form-of-anthrax.html|title=Florida Man Dies of Rare Form of Anthrax|last=Canedy|first=Dana, with Nicholas Wade|website=The New York Times|date=October 6, 2001|access-date=December 13, 2018}}</ref>

====John Edwards story====
After the ''National Enquirer'', led by editor-in-chief David Perel, investigated John Edwards for 18 months it proved that he was having an affair with Rielle Hunter. The ''Enquirer'' followed with exclusive after exclusive, including a photo of Hunter pregnant. In August 2008, in an interview with [[ABC News]], former presidential candidate [[John Edwards]] finally admitted [[John Edwards extramarital affair|to having an extramarital affair]] with [[Rielle Hunter]] but denied fathering her child.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.abcnews.go.com/Blotter/story?id=5441195&page=1 |title=Edwards Admits Sexual Affair; Lied as Presidential Candidate – ABC News |publisher=Abcnews.go.com |date=August 8, 2008 |access-date=October 16, 2010}}</ref> Edwards had earlier made false denials of the affair which was first reported by the ''National Enquirer''.<ref>{{cite magazine|author=Kate Pickert |title=Enquirer Editor: I Feel Vindicated|date=August 12, 2008| url=https://content.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1831842,00.html | access-date=10 March 2023 |magazine=Time}}</ref> In October 2007, the publication ran a story about the 2006 affair with Hunter, a filmmaker hired by the Edwards political team, although Edwards dismissed the story as "completely untrue, ridiculous" and "false."<ref>[https://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080808/ap_on_el_pr/edwards_affair_15]{{dead link|date=October 2010}}</ref> In July 2008, the publication ran an article claiming to have caught the former [[North Carolina]] Senator visiting Hunter, and their alleged illegitimate child at a hotel in Los Angeles.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nationalenquirer.com/sen_john_edwards_caught_with_mistress_and_love_child_in_la_hotel/celebrity/65193|title=SEN. JOHN EDWARDS CAUGHT WITH MISTRESS AND LOVE CHILD!|date=July 22, 2008}}</ref> [[Fox News]] interviewed an unnamed security guard who claimed to have witnessed a confrontation between Edwards and the tabloid's members of staff.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,391426,00.html|title=Guard Confirms Late-Night Hotel Encounter Between Ex-Sen. John Edwards, Tabloid Reporters|website=[[Fox News]]|date=July 25, 2008|access-date=December 7, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130215000122/http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,391426,00.html|archive-date=February 15, 2013|url-status=dead}}</ref> Edwards later finally admitted that he was the father of Hunter's child, after the ''Enquirer'' ran a photo of Edwards with the baby.

In 2010 there was some speculation that the ''Enquirer'' might receive a [[Pulitzer Prize]] for its investigation of Edwards.<ref name="TimesPulitzer">{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/19/business/media/19pulitzer.html|title=National Enquirer Is Said to Be Eligible for Pulitzers|last=Pérez-Peña|first=Richard|date=February 18, 2010|work=The New York Times|access-date=May 19, 2019|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331}}</ref> [[Donald Trump]] said that the paper should be "respected" for its investigation, and questioned why it was not given the award.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Borchers|first1=Callum|title=Donald Trump wonders why the National Enquirer didn't win a Pulitzer Prize. Here's why.|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-fix/wp/2016/07/22/donald-trump-wonders-why-the-national-enquirer-didnt-win-a-pulitzer-prize-heres-why/|newspaper=The Washington Post|date=July 22, 2016}}</ref> The ''[[San Francisco Examiner]]'' wrote, "It galls most mainstream newspaper editors that a tawdry tabloid could be considered for their most vaunted prize. It's like nominating a porn flick for an Oscar."<ref>Editors (February 21, 2010) "National Enquirer could get Pulitzer Prize for breaking John Edwards affair story." ''San Francisco Examiner.''</ref>

====Sarah Palin story====
The ''National Enquirer'' claimed to have an exclusive account of the pregnancy of [[Bristol Palin]], the daughter of [[Sarah Palin]], then governor of Alaska and Republican candidate for Vice President in the [[2008 United States presidential election|2008 election]]:<ref name=Prego>{{cite news| work=National Enquirer |title=Palin War: Teen Prego Crisis | url=http://www.nationalenquirer.com/sarah_palin_at_war_with_her_daughter_over_pregnancy_wedding/celebrity/65370}}</ref>

{{quote|The Republican governor's announcement about her daughter's pregnancy came hours after ''The Enquirer'' informed her representatives and family members of [[Levi Johnston]], the father of Bristol's child, that we were aware of the pregnancy and were going to break the news. In a preemptive strike Palin released the news, creating political shockwaves.<ref name=Prego/>|}}
The title also published an allegation that Palin had an affair with her husband's business partner, Brad Hanson.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/brad-hanson-sarah-palins_n_129356?ri18n=true|title=National Enquirer Alleges Sarah Palin Affair With Brad Hanson|work=The Huffington Post|date=May 25, 2011|orig-year=October 26, 2008|access-date=October 27, 2019}}</ref>

Answering [[John McCain]]'s threat of a lawsuit, a spokesman for the ''National Enquirer'', in a statement to ''[[HuffPost|The Huffington Post]]'', declared:
{{quote|''The National Enquirer''{{'}}s coverage of a vicious war within Sarah Palin's extended family includes several newsworthy revelations, including the resulting incredible charge of an affair plus details of family strife when the Governor's daughter revealed her pregnancy. Following our [[John Edwards]]' exclusives, our political reporting has obviously proven to be more detail-oriented than the McCain campaign's vetting process. Despite the McCain camp's attempts to control press coverage they find unfavorable, ''The Enquirer'' will continue to pursue news on both sides of the political spectrum.<ref>{{cite news|last=Stein|first=Sam|url=https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/mccain-camp-battles-natio_n_123696?ri18n=true|title=McCain Camp Battles National Enquirer Over Alleged Palin Affair|work=The Huffington Post|date=May 25, 2011|orig-year=October 4, 2008|access-date=October 27, 2019}}</ref>}}

====Murder of Ennis Cosby====
{{main|Murder of Ennis Cosby}}
The ''Enquirer'' offered a $100,000 reward for the arrest and conviction of the person who murdered [[Murder of Ennis Cosby|Ennis Cosby]], son of [[Bill Cosby]]. The paper received a credible tip, which it passed along to LAPD, which converted the tip into an arrest and conviction. David Perel's coverage of the O.J. Simpson case was referred to by ''The New York Times'' as the "bible of the case." Perel was editor in chief when the paper's investigative unit, formed under him, discovered and published that Jesse Jackson had fathered a love child during his marriage. In the Cosby case, the LA police, at a press conference, credited the ''Enquirer'' with solving the case, saying: "We have just arrested a suspect for the murder of Ennis Cosby going on information we are very confident about and this is in great part due to help from ''The National Enquirer''." David Perel was again the ''Enquirer'' editor responsible for offering reward money that led to police solving the murder.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.spokesman.com/stories/1997/mar/14/police-identify-russian-teenager-as-killer-of/ | title=Police Identify Russian Teenager as Killer of Cosby's Son, Find Gun &#124; the Spokesman-Review }}</ref>