The so-called elite media have demonstrated their fondness for euphemisms before. When ISIS kingpin Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi blew himself up after being cornered by U.S. forces, the Washington Post referred to the terrorist and mass murderer in its obituary (yes, obituary!) as an “austere religious scholar.”
That one’s admittedly hard to top, though the New York Times came close in their description today of pro-Iran militants who threatened to kill every employee of the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad as “mourners.” Here is how Middle Eastern news service Rudaw reported the threat:
Militiaman in military fatigue tells #Rudaw: "We will not spare a single employee" inside the U.S. embassy if they breach the building, warning the U.S. administration and President Donald Trump over recent airstrikes. pic.twitter.com/UIv5lnBbCF
— Rudaw English (@RudawEnglish) December 31, 2019
Apparently that reference wasn’t genteel enough for the Times, which teased its article on the incursion as follows:
Hundreds of Iraqi mourners tried to storm the United States Embassy in Baghdad, shouting “Down, down USA!,” in response to deadly American airstrikes this week that killed 25 fighters https://t.co/jrAtON72eR
— The New York Times (@nytimes) December 31, 2019
The Times understands which side its bread is buttered on. In August, the Gray Lady ran a headline that actually praised Donald Trump for urging “unity vs. racism.”
Understanding that that type of treachery would never fly with its readers, the Times “repaired” its headline by the time the afternoon edition came out. Here is the revision:
