People on social media blasted the New York Times for a Twitter headline that seemingly minimized the deaths of nine members of an American family in Mexico and implied their religion was to blame.
The headline on Twitter read, “Brutal Killings Spotlight Small Religious Sect in Mexico,” with a description that said, “The brutal killing of 9 members of an American family in northern Mexico on Monday highlights the long history of religious fundamentalist settlers in the region. Our religion reporter, Elizabeth Dias, details their history back to the early 20th century.”
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The brutal killing of 9 members of an American family in northern Mexico on Monday highlights the long history of religious fundamentalist settlers in the region. Our religion reporter, Elizabeth Dias, details their history back to the early 20th century. https://t.co/rfvtzdTN9i
— The New York Times (@nytimes) November 5, 2019
The article, penned by a religion reporter, has the headline, “Murder in Mexico: Mormon Families Have a Long History There,” and goes in-depth about a fundamentalist offshoot of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and how they settled in the region decades ago after splintering off from the Mormons.
On social media, some said the tweet was tone deaf in light of the six children and three women who were slaughtered by gunmen on Monday.
This honestly might be the most disgraceful stunt the New York Times has ever pulled. And that is saying quite a lot. https://t.co/Szt86vQ1pM
— Matt Walsh (@MattWalshBlog) November 5, 2019
No, jerks. I’d say the brutal massacre highlights how dangerous our shared border region with Mexico can be and how dangerous it is to have a paramilitary narco-war on a largely unsecured border. Your spin is complete sh*t. https://t.co/Szv5sDYVAK
— Brandon Darby (@brandondarby) November 5, 2019
six children were murdered and this is how the new york times chose to cover it. pathetic. pic.twitter.com/1UBF1eozpn
— Logan Hall (@loganclarkhall) November 5, 2019
Thanks @nytimes. For a second there, I thought it was the murderous cartel’s fault that six children were burned alive while their mothers were raped, then shot rather than Mormonism. Silly me. https://t.co/RuJoakO6e2
— Adam Trahan (@AdamTrahan) November 5, 2019
Some drew parallels between the tweet and when the Washington Post briefly changed the headline of its obituary for Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al Baghdadi to refer to him as an “austere religious scholar.”
Austere Drug Cartel https://t.co/HLWO6quYmt
— JERRY DUNLEAVY (@JerryDunleavy) November 5, 2019
Austere medicinal supplement supplier’s heroic struggles against religious extremist families. https://t.co/94LeFABkXL
— Яob (@robx_d) November 5, 2019
Washington Post: “Nobody is gonna have a worse headline than our austere religious scholar one.”
New York Times: “Be serious.” https://t.co/APE3Ag9A5L
— Jesse Kelly (@JesseKellyDC) November 6, 2019
The women and children killed Monday were part of the LeBarón family. The assailants, who have not been identified, shot and killed several of the victims, while others were trapped inside a burning vehicle.
