‘As a black woman, as a journalist, as an American, I am deeply ashamed that we ran this…’
(Claire Russel, Liberty Headlines) After the New York Times editorial board published an op-ed by Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., in which he advocated for the use of military force to put down violent riots, tens of Times staffers took to Twitter to publicly shame their employer.
I’ll probably get in trouble for this, but to not say something would be immoral. As a black woman, as a journalist, as an American, I am deeply ashamed that we ran this. https://t.co/lU1KmhH2zH
— Ida Bae Wells (@nhannahjones) June 4, 2020
Several others shared an image of Cotton’s headline and said, “Running this puts Black @NYTimes staff in danger.”
Running this puts Black @NYTimes staff in danger. pic.twitter.com/pbNhMQtOS2
— Taylor Lorenz (@TaylorLorenz) June 3, 2020
Running this puts Black @nytimes staff in danger. pic.twitter.com/nI887cUYjQ
— Kwame Opam (@kwameopam) June 3, 2020
Running this puts black people in danger. And other Americans standing up for our humanity and democracy, too. @nytimes pic.twitter.com/MQAA2WJ6YG
— Mara Gay (@MaraGay) June 4, 2020
In his op-ed, Cotton defended President Donald Trump’s right to invoke the Insurrection Act, which would “restore order to our streets” by providing an “overwhelming show of force.”
Trump warned during his address on Monday night that he would not hesitate to use the military if need be, but such a move has not yet been announced.
A.G. Sulzberger, the publisher of the New York Times, stood by the decision to publish the Cotton op-ed, according to the Washington Post.
In a letter to staff he said it was important for the Times to “provide readers a diversity of perspectives,” especially “those that challenge the positions taken by our editorial board.”
Despite the paper’s undeniable leftward slant, Democrat activists and campaign operatives have actively attempted to pressure the Times and other media organizations by suggesting that any coverage that cast a positive light on Trump or did not contextualize his presidency through a prism of radical progressivism was indicative of a pro-Trump bias.
On Wednesday, several Democratic politicians including former presidential candidate Julian Castro and New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio–Cortez waged a similar campaign to force the paper to rewrite its front-page headline.