The Internet nearly melted down Sunday when the reliably liberal Los Angeles Times reported that 2020 Democratic hopeful Pete Buttigieg seemed to take an out-of-character jab at President Obama, but it turns out there was a simple explanation: It was all a mistake.

A story about Buttigieg’s appeal included a line that the mayor of South Bend, Ind., said he thinks “the failures of the Obama era" help explain how we got Trump. The remark took social media by storm but the reporter eventually declared he actually misquoted Buttigieg.

CNN’S BRIAN STELTER IGNORES ABC NEWS’ JEFFREY EPSTEIN SCANDAL ON ‘RELIABLE SOURCES’ MEDIA SHOW

“My story about @PeteButtigieg ends with him referring to the ‘failures of the Obama era.’ That’s an inaccurate quote — the result of transcribing a noisy recording at a loud rally. His exact words were ‘failures of the old normal,’ L.A. Times reporter Evan Halper wrote.

“I deeply regret the mistake. When we make errors we own them. This one really hurts because it went viral,” Halper added.

“I deeply regret the mistake. When we make errors we own them. This one really hurts because it went viral." — Evan Halper

The digital version of the story has since been corrected.

ABC NEWS' AMY ROBACH CAUGHT ON HOT MIC SAYING NETWORK SPIKED JEFFREY EPSTEIN BOMBSHELL

Buttigieg took to Twitter himself to commend the reporter for fessing up.

“I appreciate this reporter’s swift and honest correction of a misquote on my views of the Obama presidency. From health care to DADT repeal to the rescue of the auto industry, my appreciation of the great leadership of Barack Obama comes from a very personal place,” Buttigieg wrote.

While many political watchdogs praised Halper for coming forward, some were skeptical. Mediaite’s Tommy Christopher even suggested that he wanted to hear the audio for himself because Buttigieg’s team initial defended the quote.

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

Buttigieg’s senior communications adviser Lis Smith responded by posting audio and a transcript of the misquoted comments.

It appears the 2020 Democratic hopeful did say “failures of the old normal,” not "failures of the Obama era” after all.