AP Stylebook Deletes ‘The French’ Tweet After Full Day of Relentless Mockery

On Thursday the AP Stylebook tweeted guidance on the use of “the” with identifiers, offering a list of examples that raised many thousands of eyebrows and resulted in over 4,000 quote tweets before the publication deleted the tweet on Friday.

The now-deleted tweet was in the usual AP Stylebook’s Twitter format of offering writing guidelines with examples. In this case, stating that using “the” with identifiers is “often dehumanizing” and offering examples of the don’ts and a do.

“We recommend avoiding general and often dehumanizing ‘the’ labels such as the poor, the mentally ill, the French, the disabled, the college-educated,” it said. “Instead, use wording such as people with mental illnesses. And use these descriptions only when clearly relevant.”

It was the inclusion of “the French” that really caught on and resulted in thousands of quote tweets, replies, jokes, and general mocking and criticism.

Former Daily Show host Jon Stewart got in the mix.

And even the French Embassy had a say.

Eventually the Stylebook ruined the fun and deleted the tweet, sending a replacement version minus “the French.”

We recommend avoiding general and often dehumanizing “the” labels such as the poor, the mentally ill, the disabled, the college-educated. Instead, use wording such as people with mental illnesses. And use these descriptions only when clearly relevant.

— The Associated Press (@AP) January 27, 2023

AP also sent a reply to the deleted tweet that said the inclusion of “the French” in the list of examples was “inappropriate.”

The use of “the French” in this tweet by @AP was inappropriate and has caused unintended offense. An updated tweet is upcoming.

— The Associated Press (@AP) January 27, 2023

Overall, it was quite THE debacle.