Rather than reporting the death of Isis leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi as a news item, the editors at The Washington Post chose to write an “obituary” for him. (See below.) As if that’s not bad enough, they were not quite satisfied with the description of al-Baghdadi as “Islamic State’s Terrorist-in-Chief” in their first headline. So they “improved” it.

Kristine Coratti Kelly, the communications manager at the newspaper, sent out a tweet to announce the change. She wrote, “Regarding our al-Baghdadi obituary, the headline should never have read that way and we changed it quickly.”

The description in the new headline reads “Austere Religious Scholar at Helm of Islamic State.”

This man is a brutal murderer and rapist. He is responsible for countless deaths, many of them by torture.

Not even many liberals think this is a good idea.

Yashar Ali, a contributor to The Huff Post and The New Yorker, was stunned by the Post’s treatment of al-Baghdadi’s death. Ali tweeted, “They had it right the first time.”

Twitter created a hashtag #wapodeathnotices where users can create their own headlines for other historical figures. Some of them are quite amusing. (Here are a few of the better ones. Via Twitchy.)

Mohamed Atta, skilled aviator and leader of men, dies at 33. Nero, emperor who helped Christians bring light to Rome, dies at 30. Adolf Hitler, passionate community planner and dynamic public speaker, dies at 56. Genghis Khan, accomplished horseman and indefatigable traveler, breathes his last. John Wilkes Booth, noted thespian, dies at age 24. Charles Manson, club leader and motivational speaker, dies at 83. Mussolini, community service volunteer renown for getting the trains to run on time, dies at 61. Mao Zedong, who saved 20-45 million of his own people from having to suffer through the struggle of existence, dies at 82. Pol Pot, gentle field tender, farming enthusiast dies at 72 of a heart attack. Renowned Cuban baseball great, philanthropist, humanitarian Fidel Castro dead at 90. Jim Jones, passionate community organizer and religious leader, dead at 47. Alphonse Capone, prominent liquor distributor, boxing promoter and supporter of St. Valentines Day activities, dies prematurely at 48. Osama bin Laden, some guy who did something, dead at 54.

2. Headline updated to “extremist leader of Islamic State” pic.twitter.com/qNAKWLuiru — Yashar Ali 🐘 (@yashar) October 27, 2019

4. From WaPo Communications https://t.co/AivAxZUxrm — Yashar Ali 🐘 (@yashar) October 27, 2019