NBC anchor Brian Williams self-imposed a temporary leave of absence after being faced with several allegations regarding the false reporting involving Hurricane Katrina and the war in Iraq.

According to The Washington Post, he has decided to take “the next several days off” to “adequately deal with this issue.” NBC has launched a probe into Williams’s accounts of reporting during the Iraq War and Hurricane Katrina.

The reaction to the controversy is rather dramatic in nature.

Media enthusiasts and memory specialists have looked into the situation, but have not found anything that particularly stands out. According to Yahoo News, Jon Stewart has diagnosed Williams with “infotainment confusion syndrome.” Although the details which Williams botched were rather significant, in the middle of an intense situation, the memory can truly be mixed up. It has been proven that stressful situations impair judgment and memory. While that is no excuse for Williams’s lies, this controversy is being taken too seriously.

It also makes no difference that he lied about the two situations. Lying about the helicopter in Iraq didn’t put anyone in harms way, and ultimately, the deserving veterans got their credit. The media is making the situation an extremely big deal, and while it is never acceptable for a journalist to lie, this particular lie didn’t have any serious ramifications, other than that the public now feels a paranoia-induced need to mistrust journalists even more.

While the self-imposed suspension might be just what Williams needs to allow the story to blow over, it is an unfortunate reaction to the accusations. It is important for journalists to be truthful, but it is even more important for journalists to convey the full extent of the situation they are reporting. Williams, while he did lie, never said anything that didn’t actually happen – he just “confused” the victims. Ultimately, the entire situation needs to be taken more lightly, and Williams should just come back and work to regain the trust of the public.