Internet Burns Washington Post Over Its Front Page On Trump's Speech
The Washington Post’s first edition headline covering President Donald Trump’s State of the Union address didn’t go over well on social media.
Twitter users panned the original five-column headline:
By the time the evening was over, the newspaper had given its front page a major makeover, replacing the “call for bipartisanship” of what many called a highly-partisan and even extremist speech with a quote from the address instead.
Ironically, that line was first delivered by Hillary Clinton in 2010:
While it’s not unusual for newspapers to undergo changes between editions, it’s unclear what role the more than 3,000 comments on Twitter ― mostly negative ― played in this case.
The newspaper later released a statement saying those changes were in fact due to newsroom discussions and not the social media outcry.
Executive editor Martin Baron said the early headline was for an edition with a 9:15 pm ET deadline, just as Trump was starting his speech.
“As the speech was being delivered and observed, editors quickly concluded that a different headline would better reflect the full speech,” he said, adding:
“Like most newspapers, The Post often rethinks, refines and rewrites headlines from one edition to the next based on its own internal discussions about what best captures the nature of a story. Headline changes last night were based exclusively on our customary internal conversations.”
Here is some of the reaction to both the initial headline and the later version:
Are you insane? He equated immigrants with Ms-13 and want to stop family reunification . No way. That's as divisive as it comes.
— Arriadna 🗽 (@Arriadna) January 31, 2018
Try again. #StateOfTheUniom pic.twitter.com/zCRvoUDuMQ
— She persisted (@CaseyHinds) January 31, 2018
it would be nice if
a) you didn't need to be scolded into fixing a ridiculous headline
b) you actually fixed it— Avi (@AviAhvee) January 31, 2018
fixed it for you pic.twitter.com/kY0QN2huGp
— Adam Parkhomenko (@AdamParkhomenko) January 31, 2018
Congrats on a headline you absolutely, positively won't regret tomorrow.
— Kevin M. Kruse (@KevinMKruse) January 31, 2018
— Worshipful Spector Hair Day (@SpectorHairDay) January 31, 2018
Twelve editions from now, you'll have it absolutely nailed.
— The Hoarse Whisperer (@HoarseWisperer) January 31, 2018
You do realize that line, the "new Anerican moment" line, was lifted from a Hillary Clinton speech in 2010. It was a very Melania moment indeed.
— mikey_shriver (@mikey_shriver) January 31, 2018
I guess WTF was too pithy?
— Bronco Bama (@BronckoBamma) January 31, 2018
why is it not obvious to you that this is also bad?
— Eric Armstrong (@_ericarmstrong) January 31, 2018
Keep trying.
— Cari Dick (@CariDick) January 31, 2018
In its second attempt at a cover, Wa Po is still sanitizing and normalizing DT’s speech. #sotu pic.twitter.com/kC4BVVep42
— Nia Spencer (@niaaspencer) January 31, 2018
Still nope.
— The Doctor: CALL UR SENATORS: 202-224-3121 (@TheTenth2017) January 31, 2018
Personally I would have gone with "Well He Didn't Poop Himself"
— RuPaul Ryan (@itsrupaulryan) January 31, 2018
UPDATE: This story has been updated to include a statement from the Washington Post.
Love HuffPost? Become a founding member of HuffPost Plus today.
Also on HuffPost
This article originally appeared on HuffPost.