‘Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, austere religious scholar at the helm of Islamic State, dies at 48’

No. Not an Onion spoof of the politically correct insanity of the left-liberal media, but an actual headline from the Washington Post.

For the record, WaPo headline was "Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, austere religious scholar at the helm of Islamic State," before they realised something was wrong and corrected it. pic.twitter.com/k6RbmPr5vs — Ejder Memis (@_sHx_) October 27, 2019

True – the original headline read: ‘Islamic State’s terrorist-in-chief.’

And WaPo has since amended it to ‘Extremist leader of Islamic State dies at 48.’

But ‘Austere religious scholar’. WaPo: what were you thinking?

Was that really the best way to sum up the life of a mass-murdering religious psychopath, responsible for many thousands of rapes, tortures, burnings-alive, crucifixions, a surge in global terrorism and the attempted genocide of the Yezidis?

Many social media users thought not:

#WaPoDeathNotices Genghis Khan, accomplished horseman and indefatigable traveler, breathes his last. — Walter Russell Mead (@wrmead) October 27, 2019

John Wayne Gacy, noted child enthusiast and clown participant at kid’s parties #WaPoDeathNotices — LegallyBae (@legallybae) October 27, 2019

#WaPoDeathNotices Joseph Stalin, former seminarian and noted agrarian reformer, dead at 74. — Stephen F. Knott (@publius57) October 27, 2019

Jim Jones, passionate community organizer and religious leader, dead at 47.#WaPoDeathNotices pic.twitter.com/OP8YBvehBV — Dan Crenshaw's Eyepatch (@DansEyepatch) October 27, 2019

#WaPoDeathNotices Jimmy Saville. British celebrity marathon runner and raiser of millions for children's charities pic.twitter.com/tXR1iNtiAe — Mark Tamm (@GarbleBlather) October 27, 2019

#Wapodeathnotices Fearless advocate of 20/20 vision, unmanicured hands and rustic authenticity, Pol Pot was also renowned for his world-class ossiary… — James Delingpole QC (@JamesDelingpole) October 27, 2019