The Newseum boasts that it’s “dedicated to the importance of a free press and the First Amendment.” In the last week though it was revealed that the Washington DC museum made an error in judgment. As journalists, many of us have walked the halls of the Newseum in awe paying tribute to legends of the craft and to the stories that have shaped our country. So it was surprising last week when the Poynter Institute found the gift shop was selling shirts that said “Fake News.” Poynter reached out to the Newseum and reports:

“In an email to Poynter, Sonya Gavankar, director of public relations for the Newseum, said the merch is an example of how the museum tries to foster an environment that encourages free speech.”

They stuck with their decision to sell the shirts until the backlash became too loud.

Over the weekend the Newseum released a statement saying:

“The Newseum has removed the ‘You Are Very Fake News’ t-shirts from the gift shop and online. We made a mistake and we apologize. A free press is an essential part of our democracy and journalists are not the enemy of the people.

Questions have also been raised regarding other merchandise. As an organization that celebrates the rights of people from all political spectrums to express themselves freely, we’ve historically made all types of political merchandise available for our guests to purchase. That has included former and current presidential slogans and imagery and merchandise from all political parties. We continue to do so in celebration of freedom of speech.”

The controversy doesn’t end there though. We have confirmed their online gift shop is still selling “Make America Great Again” hats, shirts and pins.

How this merchandise fits into the Newseum’s theme is mission isn’t exactly clear, but money talks. The hats are reportedly the museum’s biggest sellers.