NY Times Gets Destroyed For Absolutely Unbelievable Trump Disinfectant Tweet: ‘Some Experts Say…’
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Blue-Check Twitter savaged The New York Times over a tweet and an article that carried the mind-boggling suggestion that only “some experts” believe that President Donald Trump’s suggestions about the internal consumption of disinfectant are dangerous.
The Times Twitter account posted a tweet about Trump’s now-infamous rant on Friday that said “At a White House briefing, President Trump theorized — dangerously, in the view of some experts — about the powers of sunlight, ultraviolet light and household disinfectants to kill the coronavirus.”
The tweet was promoting an article entitled “Trump Asks if Sunlight Can Kill Viruses. ‘Not as a Treatment,’ Birx Says,” which contained a passage that said “On Thursday, he returned to that theme at the daily White House coronavirus briefing, bringing in a top administration scientist to back up his assertions and eagerly theorizing — dangerously, in the view of some experts — about the powers of sunlight, ultraviolet light and household disinfectants to kill the coronavirus.”
The well-deserved backlash was swift, sure, and at times hilarious.
For those dumbfounded by the Times claiming that only “some experts” view the ingestion of household disinfectants as dangerous, this explanation from March holds. This is one way it happens and one reason why it will continue to happen. https://t.co/KtXpe5oKIW
— Jay Rosen (@jayrosen_nyu) April 24, 2020
They found the one doctor the New York Times was referring to when they implied that some experts are in favor of injecting bleach pic.twitter.com/ldYLqdv5Fo
— Mathew Ingram (@mathewi) April 24, 2020
Some experts think injecting Clorox is fatal. Others, presumably, disagree? https://t.co/myNk5cogTE
— Markos Moulitsas (@markos) April 24, 2020
Only in the view of SOME experts, @AdamSerwer! Others say a Clorox and vodka cocktail (lime, not lemon) is the cure! #cloroxtini https://t.co/z4NRpjbh0n
— Joan Walsh (@joanwalsh) April 24, 2020
Say it with me again: journalism is not about appearing “balanced.” It is about being objective. If a president says you should inject yourself with a deadly toxic chemical because he is ignorant, don’t say “some experts” say it’s dangerous. It’s objectively dangerous. Say so. https://t.co/rEdmCeLz21
— Brian Klaas (@brianklaas) April 24, 2020
The best “dangerously, in the view of some experts” @nytimes parody will get a prize, the Collected Essays of George Orwell, on me. pic.twitter.com/hgEqnv4kJb
— Gregg Gonsalves (@gregggonsalves) April 24, 2020
Icarus announced plans, dangerous in the view of some experts, to fly to the sun with wings of feather and wax.
— mbeisen (@mbeisen) April 24, 2020
Generously buttered noodles— dangerously, in the view of some experts—sprinkled with just a quarter cup of parsley for freshness, are the perfect blank canvas for the powers of sunlight, ultraviolet light & household disinfectants
— Julie Klausner (@julieklausner) April 24, 2020
Trump’s utter stupidity was already dangerous, but now it could be deadly to anyone who listens to him. I cannot believe we’re in this timeline. https://t.co/bdaj617oki
— Christina Warren (@film_girl) April 24, 2020
President Trump theorized this morning – dangerously, in the minds of some experts – that he could stand in the middle of Fifth Avenue and shoot somebody. @nytimes
— Seth Haber (@treklightgear) April 24, 2020
Dennis DiClaudio theorizes—dangerously, in the view of some experts—that punching yourself in the face with a kitchen knife could alleviate sinus headaches. pic.twitter.com/0dvcKQ2Uch
— Dennis DiClaudio (@dennisdiclaudio) April 24, 2020
At a briefing in her apartment where she’s been for the last seven weeks, Madison theorized — dangerously, in the view of some experts — that eating an entire bowl of unbaked brownie batter with a spoon could be a good idea.
— Madison Malone Kircher (@4evrmalone) April 24, 2020
Only in the view of SOME experts, @AdamSerwer! Others say a Clorox and vodka cocktail (lime, not lemon) is the cure! #cloroxtini https://t.co/z4NRpjbh0n
— Joan Walsh (@joanwalsh) April 24, 2020
Okay, I was pretty close in predicting the NYT headline about Trump’s comments on injecting disinfectant: “dangerously, in the view of some experts.” pic.twitter.com/prKb0bU9qk
— Miranda Yaver (@mirandayaver) April 24, 2020
In fairly short order, the paper announced that they were deleting the tweet, and replacing the references with clearer guidance as to the danger of injecting or ingesting disinfectants:
We’ve deleted an earlier tweet and updated a sentence in our article that implied that only “some experts” view the ingestion of household disinfectants as dangerous. To be clear, there is no debate on the danger.
— The New York Times (@nytimes) April 24, 2020
Still, it’s hard to say they’ve learned their lesson.
Over at the Times Twitter feed, we’ve regressed from “some experts” say mainlining Clorox is dangerous to Trump’s advocacy of mainlining Clorox is unproven. https://t.co/8Dp6LpEjWZ
— Brian Beutler (@brianbeutler) April 25, 2020
Maybe they should have just told readers they were being sarcastic.
