New York Times faces backlash for changing – Business News
The New York Times quietly swapped the headline on a contentious op-ed about Hasan Piker — the far-left Twitch streamer infamous for declaring “America deserved 9/11” — following backlash over a column that solid the pro-Palestinian firebrand as “not the enemy.”
Ezra Klein, a left-leaning opinion author for the Gray Lady, penned a column on Sunday that was initially headlined: “Hasan Piker Is Not the Enemy.”
The Times then modified the headline, which as of Monday morning learn: “This Is Why There’s No Liberal Joe Rogan.”
The New York Times initially printed Ezra Klein’s column below the headline “Hasan Piker Is Not the Enemy.” The New York Times
In the piece, Klein weighs in on the talk amongst Democrats over whether or not mainstream social gathering politicians ought to seem on Piker’s Twitch streams. He additionally referred to as on Dems operating for workplace to look on podcasts hosted by those that have been crucial of their social gathering, like Joe Rogan.
“I have deep disagreements with Piker, but he isn’t a ‘Jew hater.’ He’s an anti-Zionist,” Klein wrote. “And here, I think, the real stakes of this fight come into view.”
X customers took the Times to activity for the headline change, with some accusing Klein and the paper of sanitizing Piker’s views.
“Wow — hey @nytimes are you gonna explain to your readers why you changed the headline to this @ezraklein piece about @hasanthehun? Who did you capitulate to?” one account posted.
“Even the @nytimes was embarrassed by a headline declaring that the man who said ‘America deserved 9/11’ isn’t the enemy,” one other consumer wrote. “They didn’t change the story defending Hasan Piker, but at least they made the title a little less obvious.”
The New York Times later modified the headline on Ezra Klein’s column to “This Is Why There’s No Liberal Joe Rogan.” The New York Times
“It’s crazy watching the moderate left defend Piker. This guy is basically Nick Fuentes of the left but he gets invited to Oscar parties, is objectively evil in very obvious ways, and is not very smart,” one X consumer wrote. “Why circle the wagons for this guy?”
Hen Mazzig, a pro-Israel commentator, wrote on X: “It’s a comforting notion, that if we simply enable people to unfold lies and hate about our brothers and sisters in Israel, they’ll hate Jews within the diaspora a little much less.
“But the reality is, hate — yes, including that hate that calls for the dissolution of the world’s one Jewish state and the home of half of Jews living — has little to do with our actions.”
Ezra Klein, a New York Times opinion columnist, wrote the piece defending Hasan Piker that drew criticism online. The Washington Post through Getty Images
Robby Soave, a author for the libertarian-leaning Reason, wrote that whereas “allegations of anti-Semitism are probably exaggerated” in Piker’s case, “it’s telling that [Klein] doesn’t engage at all with Hasan Piker fawning over Chinese authoritarianism.”
A Times spokesperson advised The Post that it’s routine for the newspaper to “test” a number of headlines.
“We often write several accurate headlines for a piece and test them,” Times rep Charlie Stadtlander wrote in an e-mail.
“Then we go with the one that most engages readers. That’s precisely what we did here.”
Hasan Piker, who as soon as stated “America deserved 9/11,” has repeatedly drawn backlash for inflammatory political commentary. AP
Piker, who boasts more than 3 million followers on Twitch, has long been a lightning rod for controversy, most notably after he declared during a 2019 livestream that “America deserved 9/11” — remarks that led to a suspension from Twitch and proceed to canine him years later.
He has additionally drawn scrutiny for rhetoric about political violence. Last yr, Piker stated, “If you cared about Medicare fraud or Medicaid fraud, you would kill Rick Scott,” a Republican US senator for Florida, prompting one other short-term suspension from the platform.
The streamer has repeatedly clashed with Twitch over its content material insurance policies, together with a ban tied to his use of the time period “cracker,” which he defended publicly as not similar to different racial slurs.
Piker has additionally been criticized for platforming controversial figures.
Piker additionally drew backlash for saying: “If you cared about Medicare fraud … you would kill Rick Scott.” FilmMagic
In 2024, he interviewed a Yemeni man described in media stories as having ties to Houthi militants, with Piker insisting afterward that the person was “not a part of any militancy” — a declare that sparked considerations about amplifying propaganda.
Jonathan Greenblatt, head of the Anti-Defamation League, has been amongst Piker’s most forceful critics, calling him “one of the most outspoken, virulent antisemitic influencers in the world.”
The ADL has repeatedly accused Piker of justifying Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023 terror assaults on Israel and amplifying extremist narratives, citing his commentary on Israel and interviews with figures linked in protection to terrorist teams.
Piker has denied accusations of extremism, typically framing his commentary as political critique
The Post has sought remark from Piker.
