The Washington Post were savaged on Twitter after publishing an obituary for ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi that described him as an “austere religious scholar.”
The paper initially described Baghdadi as “terrorist-in-chief” in their headline before changing it to call him a religious scholar. They then changed the headline a third time to call him an extremist leader, but not before critics blasted them for the description.
“@washingtonpost trying desperately to hold on to #ISIS on-line subscribers,” Wyoming Rep. Liz Cheney, a top ranking House Republican, said.
.@washingtonpost trying desperately to hold on to #ISIS on-line subscribers pic.twitter.com/c7hkpd4dA3
— Liz Cheney (@Liz_Cheney) October 27, 2019
“Austere religious leader dies in darkness,” Jon Gabriel, the editor-in-chief of Ricochet, said, mocking the paper’s motto, “Democracy Dies in Darkness.”
“Austere religious leader dies in darkness”
— jon gabriel (@exjon) October 27, 2019
“With fawning headlines like this about a serial rapist and murderer, is it any wonder that so many people now believe that the mainstream media is full of shit? They’re literally doing PR for a terrorist scumbag. Screw you Wa Po!” tweeted Donald Trump Jr.
With fawning headlines like this about a serial rapist and murderer, is it any wonder that so many people now believe that the mainstream media is full of shit? They’re literally doing PR for a terrorist scumbag. Screw you Wa Po! pic.twitter.com/U8EXIYlScM
— Donald Trump Jr. (@DonaldJTrumpJr) October 27, 2019
Twitter users started using the hashtag “WaPoDeathNotices” to make fun of the Washington Post by posting fake benign obituaries of terrible people throughout history.
#WaPoDeathNotices Genghis Khan, accomplished horseman and indefatigable traveler, breathes his last.
— Walter Russell Mead (@wrmead) October 27, 2019
Mohamed Atta, skilled aviator and leader of men, dies at 33. #WashPostOrbits #WashingtonPostOrbits #WaPoDeathNotices
— Curtis Houck (@CurtisHouck) October 27, 2019
Judas Iscariot, devoted disciple of Jesus and noted silver trader… pic.twitter.com/hsfnJCOhdA
— Logan Dobson (@LoganDobson) October 27, 2019
#WaPoDeathNotices Joseph Stalin, former seminarian and noted agrarian reformer, dead at 74.
— Stephen F. Knott (@publius57) October 27, 2019
Mao Zedong, who saved 20-45 million of his own people from having to suffer through the struggle of existence, dies at 82.#WaPoDeathNotices pic.twitter.com/4wwJqQqXp3
— Jason Howerton (@jason_howerton) October 27, 2019
President Trump announced Sunday morning that Baghdadi was killed in a raid in Syria by U.S. Delta Force.
“Last night, the United States brought the world’s No. 1 terrorist leader to justice. Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi is dead,” Trump said at a press conference. The president said he was “whimpering and crying and screaming” when he killed himself as U.S. forces closed in.
UPDATE:
Washington Post‘s Communications General Manager Kristine Coratti Kelly said the paper made a mistake in referring to Baghdadi as an “austere religious leader.”
Regarding our al-Baghdadi obituary, the headline should never have read that way and we changed it quickly.
— Kristine Coratti Kelly (@kriscoratti) October 27, 2019
