The Propaganda FilesWaPo Headline Calls Baghdadi an 'Austere Religious Scholar'
After ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi was killed in a U.S. raid, the Post changed its obituary headline from calling him ISIS's terrorist-in-chief to describing him as an austere religious scholar at the helm of the group.
Softened the terrorist leader killed in a Trump-ordered raid, taking the edge off a win for the Trump administration.
What was reported
After ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi was killed in a U.S. raid, the Post changed its obituary headline from calling him ISIS's terrorist-in-chief to describing him as an austere religious scholar at the helm of the group.
What actually happened
The softened headline drew bipartisan ridicule and criticism from administration officials. The Post changed it again to call him the extremist leader of Islamic State. A Post spokesperson said the headline should never have read that way and was written in haste.
The proof
The Post spokesperson's public statement that the headline should never have read that way, and the second headline change.
The receipt. Copy this and paste it anywhere:
WaPo Headline Calls Baghdadi an 'Austere Religious Scholar' — Retracted. The Post spokesperson's public statement that the headline should never have read that way, and the second headline change. Full file: https://www.thepropagandafiles.com/case/wapo-baghdadi-austere-religious-scholar/
Original reporting
- Spokesman-Review: syndicated copy of the Post obituary (secondary)https://www.spokesman.com/stories/2019/oct/27/abu-bakr-al-baghdadi-islamic-states-terrorist-in-c/
Corrections, findings & records
- iMediaEthics: WaPo's al-Baghdadi headline changeshttps://imediaethics.org/washposts-al-baghdadi-headline-changes/amp
- Mediaite: WaPo changes al-Baghdadi headline after getting rippedhttps://www.mediaite.com/news/wapo-changes-al-baghdadi-headline-after-getting-ripped-for-referring-to-terror-leader-as-austere-religious-scholar
- Washington Free Beacon: WaPo says headline was written in hastehttps://freebeacon.com/politics/wapo-headline-calling-isis-leader-austere-religious-scholar-was-written-in-haste/
Archived copies
Stories get edited after publication. These open the Internet Archive's earliest saved copy of each original.
- Archived copy: Spokesman-Review: syndicated copy of the Post obituary (secondary)https://web.archive.org/web/2/https://www.spokesman.com/stories/2019/oct/27/abu-bakr-al-baghdadi-islamic-states-terrorist-in-c/