Washington Post Caters To Fragile Staffers Offended By Truth In Deleting Anti-Hamas Cartoon

Wednesday, the Washington Post deleted an editorial cartoon that accurately depicted a spokesperson from Hamas using civilians as “human shields."

The initial report attributed columnists and a Princeton graduate criticizing the drawing as "racist" for the Post's decision to remove the cartoon from its webpage.

While those complaints were factors, a follow-up report from Fox News on Friday says it was actually internal staffers who were most responsible for the outlet deleting the image.

The staff apparently expressed "deep concerns" over the publication of the image, which ran online and in the Nov. 8 print edition of the paper:

https://twitter.com/SonnyBunch/status/1722712643306147866?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1722712643306147866%7Ctwgr%5E770833f08a88bae0f129aaa65b286cb31960d5f7%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.outkick.com%2Fwashington-post-apologizes-deletes-accurate-hamas-cartoon-after-critics-call-it-racist%2F

Executive editor Sally Buzbee addressed the cartoon in an email to staffers on Wednesday:

“Given the many deep concerns and conversations today in our newsroom, I wanted to ensure everyone saw the notes sent out tonight by The Post's opinions editor, David Shipley, to Post readers and to his staff in opinions."

Buzbee references Shipley’s apology to readers:

"As editor of the opinion section, I am responsible for what appears in its pages and on its screens. The section depends on my judgment," Shipley began. "A cartoon published by Michael Ramirez on the war in Gaza, a cartoon whose publication I approved, was seen by many readers as racist. This was not my intent. I saw the drawing as a caricature of a specific individual, the Hamas spokesperson, who celebrated the attacks on unarmed civilians in Israel."

The cartoon offending staffers of a journalism outlet is undeniably troubling. And telling. They are offended by the truth. The cartoon depiction is accurate. 

As we reported Thursday, Hamas does, in fact, use civilians as human shields in Gaza. The organization has, according to NATO,  “since at least 2007.”

Thus, the Washington Post let the feelings of fragile staffers dictate its ability to cover the news, albeit via a cartoon, accurately. 

That's embarrassing and says more about the Post’s leadership than staffers. 

Of all the legacy media outlets that have botched the coverage of Hamas, and there are many, the Post sits atop that list.

CNN and the New York Times admitted fault in relying on the Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry as a source for a hospital explosion last month, which erroneously blamed the blast on Israel.  

The Post, however, doubled down on its decision to rely on a terror for sourcing:

“Many experts consider figures provided by the ministry reliable, given its access, sources, and accuracy in past statements,” said the outlet.

The Washington Post used to be home to Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein, who despite their faults, were determined to uncover the truth.

Today, the Washington Post is home to emotional hemophiliacs like Taylor Lorez and a group of Hamas sympathizers.

Oh, how the mighty have fallen. 

Democracy Dies in Darkness Deceit.