Original headline read ‘Trump urges unity vs racism’ – prompting accusations that newspaper was feeding president’s narrative

This article is more than 1 year old

This article is more than 1 year old

The New York Times was forced to change its front-page headline for Tuesday’s newspaper amid an intense backlash over its portrayal of Donald Trump’s statement on the twin mass shootings that left 31 people dead.

The original headline read “TRUMP URGES UNITY VS RACISM”. Many people complained that the wording fed Trump’s claims that those who criticised his persistent anti-immigrant rhetoric – some of which was parroted in the El Paso gunman’s alleged manifesto – were playing politics.

The headline first gained widespread attention when it was tweeted by the prominent statistician Nate Silver:

Nate Silver (@NateSilver538) Tomorrow's NYT print edition.



Not sure "TRUMP URGES UNITY VS. RACISM" is how I would have framed the story. pic.twitter.com/quOibXsp32

As Silver’s tweet was being shared thousands of times, the New York Times changed the headline for the second print edition to “ASSAILING HATE BUT NOT GUNS”.

A Times spokesperson acknowledged to the Washington Post: “The headline was bad and has been changed for the second edition.”

Tom Jolly (@TomJolly) Tomorrow’s @nytimes tonight, second edition: @realDonaldTrump assails hate but not guns; China employs currency in trade feud, jolting markets. #nytimes pic.twitter.com/1fD4pVEbaF

But it seemed the damage had already been done. Many prominent Democrats, including several presidential candidates, accused the New York Times of distorting Trump’s teleprompter address. And some people even threatened to cancel their subscriptions.

From Democratic 2020 presidential candidate Kirsten Gillibrand:

Kirsten Gillibrand (@SenGillibrand) That’s not what happened. https://t.co/m6eIZOARcZ

From the Democratic 2020 candidate Cory Booker:

Cory Booker (@CoryBooker) Lives literally depend on you doing better, NYT. Please do. https://t.co/L4CpCb8zLi

The Democratic 2020 candidate Beto O’Rourke, who used to represent part of El Paso in the House of Representatives, offered a one-word response:

The New York mayor, Bill de Blasio, who is also running for president, mocked his city’s newspaper using a tagline from its ads:

Bill de Blasio (@BilldeBlasio) Hey, @nytimes — what happened to “The Truth Is Worth It?”



Not the truth.

Not worth it. pic.twitter.com/N5tMTEoLln

And Democratic congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez condemned what she called “the cowardice of mainstream institutions”.