NY Times Corrects Report on Cenk Uygur After Criticism for Framing of David Duke Interview
By now you’re probably aware that Cenk Uygur of The Young Turks is now running for Congress.
The New York Times has been receiving some serious criticism for the way a report on Uygur initially framed a confrontational interview he did a few years ago with David Duke.
Towards the end of the interview, Duke insisted “I am not what you call a racist” and Uygur dryly remarked, “No, no, of course not.” He went on to say, “This is not a white nation, this is not a Christian nation… this is a secular nation.”
A Times report on how Bernie Sanders retracted his endorsement of Uygur noted the Duke interview and the “no, of course not” response, but significantly did not note he was being glib. A number of people, Uygur included, called out the Times on social media for the glaring omission:
This is stunning! @nytimes @JennyMedina claimed @cenkuygur said David Duke is “of course not” a bigot. This is the interview she was citing! They should immediately retract and apologize! pic.twitter.com/WUiM1xvX2U
— Secular Talk (@KyleKulinski) December 15, 2019
When @jennymedina contacted me for her story I thought we had a shared understanding the Duke clip was obviously out of context.
She was immediately sent the full, combative debate as proof.
That she completely ignored it & still published this lie is absolutely unconscionable. https://t.co/vbXXWHyTlX
— Cenk Uygur (@cenkuygur) December 16, 2019
If the NYTimes can lie about @cenkuygur, they can lie about you. They’ll twist your words, pretend not to hear your sarcasm and make you sound like you’re saying the exact opposite of what you are saying. This is outrageous and they should immediately retract and apologize. https://t.co/gpJ9YaFzMJ
— Krystal Ball (@krystalball) December 15, 2019
It's one thing to make mistakes in reporting. Of course NY Times got things wrong before. But I was naive enough to think it was just incompetence rather than maliciousness. But the falsities are intentional and malicious. Thier work is just an extension of corrpupt politics.
— Ana Kasparian (@AnaKasparian) December 16, 2019
This is lazy journalism. Anyone who watches the easily findable interview would see that @cenkuygur is being sarcastic when he says “of course not.” https://t.co/OsvyDDFCeb pic.twitter.com/gi6FDRQiZk
— Jessica Schulberg (@jessicaschulb) December 16, 2019
.@cenkuygur: [spends the hour calling david duke a loser, anti-Semitic, openly insults him, and closes the segment with a sarcastic quip]
NYT reporter @jennymedina: wow I saw a random tweet that said Cenk agreed with david duke, better publish it! https://t.co/wFN8fqW87C
— jordan (@JordanUhl) December 15, 2019
Tonight the Times issued a correction:
An earlier version of this article referred imprecisely to a remark by Cenk Uygur, a radio host who is running for a California congressional seat. When David Duke, the white supremacist, appeared on his show and denied being a racist, Mr. Uygur was replying sarcastically when he said, “No, of course not.”
“Although as some have pointed out this correction appears a bit begrudging, I still do appreciate it,” Uygur responded.
Although as some have pointed out this correction appears a bit begrudging, I still do appreciate it. I still believe @nytimes has an establishment perspective but I hope they care about the truth & this went some way toward proving it. Thank you to everyone who made this happen! https://t.co/l7VVJVOe5J
— Cenk Uygur (@cenkuygur) December 17, 2019
