The Economist ran what some are calling an “ill-advised” cover last week that shows an American flag constructed with chili peppers with, “Firing up America … a special report on America’s Latinos.”
Even though the cover was first released last Thursday, it didn’t gain much steam online until today, when many journalists and activists scolded The Economist for it.
According to liberal blog Media Matters, the content of the cover story itself was “mostly positive,” but using chili peppers was “tone-deaf and destructive,” ignores the diversity of the Latino community, and perpetuates a false stereotype. Later in the Economist piece, Latinos are described as “chilies in the mix.”
Journalists and bloggers reacted similarly on Twitter:
The people at @TheEconomist somehow thought this was a good cover pic.twitter.com/lLpHHEcZ3P
— Adam Serwer (@AdamSerwer) March 16, 2015
@AdamSerwer @TheEconomist God knows I've spiced up the joint at BuzzFeed. Stereotypes and nonsense.
— Adrian Carrasquillo (@Carrasquillo) March 16, 2015
@Carrasquillo @AdamSerwer I just love how they distilled Latinos' various flags into one reflecting our universal language! @TheEconomist
— Liliana Segura (@LilianaSegura) March 16, 2015
@LilianaSegura @AdamSerwer @TheEconomist Special Report: Latinos Love Peppers
— Adrian Carrasquillo (@Carrasquillo) March 16, 2015
How many Latinos work at the Economist? pic.twitter.com/U5kL8mrVfk
— David V. Johnson (@contrarianp) March 16, 2015
Did @TheEconomist really just equate Latinos to chili peppers? http://t.co/bC3vyovKGR pic.twitter.com/ni4dnGPLI1
— Catherine Taibi (@cathtaibi) March 16, 2015
Please stop depicting Latinos as spicy. We're not spicy. You're just pissing us off. http://t.co/OXjyX7E5FB pic.twitter.com/etx8Gajtb5
— Carlos Maza (@gaywonk) March 16, 2015
LIKE HOW DID THIS GET THROUGH EDITING. WE ARE NOT A "CHOPPED" INGREDIENT FFS. http://t.co/OXjyX7E5FB pic.twitter.com/GnTjv1AtNU
— Carlos Maza (@gaywonk) March 16, 2015
Hey @TheEconomist do you guys accept freelance work? Asking for a friend. http://t.co/OXjyX7E5FB pic.twitter.com/jWruA7QW3B
— Carlos Maza (@gaywonk) March 16, 2015
Is "The Economist" serious? This is their cover?? WOW. #Latinos #Latism pic.twitter.com/Vn2iyzszA8
— Linda Sarsour (@lsarsour) March 16, 2015
Vox went as far as to call the cover “embarrassingly racist”:
The Economist's embarrassingly racist chili pepper cover gets Hispanic Americans all wrong http://t.co/0sE2ovSmHl pic.twitter.com/Eh8j9EyfHb
— Vox (@voxdotcom) March 16, 2015
But others couldn’t resist having a little fun with it:
Rejected Economist cover. pic.twitter.com/3CeePdRkE2
— Adrian Carrasquillo (@Carrasquillo) March 16, 2015
[Featured image via screengrab / The Economist]
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