New York Times Opinion Apologizes for Twitter Poll on Christine Ford’s Credibility: ‘Insensitive’

The New York Times opinion page’s Twitter feed posted, then deleted, a poll asking people whether they found Christine Blasey Ford‘s testimony “credible” after the first part of today’s Senate Judiciary Committee hearing.

And unsurprisingly, people criticized the Times for making a Twitter poll on the subject:

The New York Times opinion section is looking for reader engagement on this hearing. How would you like to engage with @nytopinion?

[ ] Chop them up and feed them to iguanas
[ ] Strap them to a missile and fire them into a volcano pic.twitter.com/VVpA1I2aE4

— Tom Scocca (@tomscocca) September 27, 2018

This is a very bad use of Twitter that has no journalistic purpose. pic.twitter.com/OLh3uLobwo

— Derek Willis (@derekwillis) September 27, 2018

Should @nytopinion lose the poll option

— Allison Kilkenny (@allisonkilkenny) September 27, 2018

Who thought this was a good use of Twitter’s poll feature? pic.twitter.com/iqi6kxYbBZ

— Parker Molloy (@ParkerMolloy) September 27, 2018

The Times took down the tweet and apologized, calling the poll “insensitive”:

We’re sorry for this tweet. In retrospect, a Twitter poll is insensitive in light of the gravity of this hearing. We’ve deleted it. pic.twitter.com/4CqRhkuCat

— NYT Opinion (@nytopinion) September 27, 2018

Not everyone accepted the Times’ apology:

WOW https://t.co/sKElcBqpaT

— Carron J. Phillips (@carronJphillips) September 27, 2018

your commitment to being the worst part of this newspaper is inspiring

— Zendaya is Meklee (@MilesKlee) September 27, 2018

CNN’s Chris Cuomo, however, applauded the mea culpa:

Good for them for owning what they did and why. Rare these days, certainly rare in media. Whether or not you agree with the sensitivity – the no bs transparency is valuable. https://t.co/kPQGUqOrqc

— Christopher C. Cuomo (@ChrisCuomo) September 27, 2018

[image via Getty]