New York Post Gets Ripped for ‘Muslim Killers’ Headline
The New York Post is drawing charges of “Islamophobia” for a change made to the front page of its Thursday edition, which features a victim of Wednesday’s mass shooting in San Bernardino, California, emblazoned with the words “Muslim Killers.”
The cover line was an apparent change from the pre-existing headline “Murder Mission,” made presumably when details of the suspected killers’ identities emerged during or after printing; it’s unclear whether the change actually went to press or was limited to digital representations of the cover.
On Wednesday morning, a man and woman opened fire at San Bernardino’s Inland Regional Center, killing 14 people and wounding 21. Overnight, the suspects, whom police engaged in a street shootout that left both dead, were identified as Syed Farook, 28, and Tashfeen Malik, 27.
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The subhead for the tabloid’s front page was also changed from “Shooters slaughter 14 in Calif.” to “Terror eyed as couple slaughters 14 in Calif.”
Condemnation in media and online was swift, with Jack Mirkinson of Salon saying, “It would be difficult to find a more blatant example of racism,” concluding that “the Post decided, with evident glee, to go all in on Islamophobia.”
BuzzFeed business editor Tom Gara tweeted, “Will be a good day for the world when this vile newspaper goes out of business.”
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The Post is accustomed to cover controversy. In August, editors ran a series of still images on the front page captured from first-person video of the shooting death of a Virginia TV news reporter and her cameraman.
The New York Post did not immediately respond to TheWrap’s request for comment.