Local paper duped by imposter

[Thegoatprophecy]

Any thoughts appreciated. My friend's husband was recently at the scene where someone collapsed. The husband performed CPR until the emergency services arrived and happily the patient survived. The local paper ran a story about a mystery hero and that seemed to be that. However a week or so later, the same paper carried an article with a photo of someone claiming to have been that mystery hero-only of course it was an imposter, claiming the glory. The friend is upset as it makes it look like she was lying; but the paper won't publish anything retracting the story, despite evidence about who the real person was. Is there anything that can be done legally or otherwise? Thanks

Is there a competing local paper? Give them the story about how the first paper was duped...

Or local BBC. It's a bigger story now.

But these are both a bit high risk - your friend might prefer to keep her head down and suck it up.

Failing that, there's still the Press Complaints Commission.

IME they're terribly polite, use expensive stationery, and don't actually do anything. But you may have more luck.

Thanks Partial, I did think about the first suggestion. Press Complaints would be a good idea. Appreciated :)