The Associated Press edited the words of a Muslim man who allegedly killed three white people in downtown Fresno Tuesday afternoon and shouted “Allahu Akbar!”
The suspect, 39-year-old Kori Ali Muhammad, holds fervent anti-Trump beliefs according to his social media profile, and he told police afterward that he hates white people.
Rather than reporting the gunman’s literal words, however, the AP reported the gunman as saying “God is great.”
On Twitter, the AP’s report gave no indication that the suspect’s words were said in Arabic.
Screenshot/Twitter
The AP took flack on Twitter for the edits, which some said was meant to downplay the shooter’s ties to Islam.
What he actually yelled was "Allahu Akbar." Awesome journalisming, @AP. https://t.co/0b8q1YRVlU
— Sean Davis (@seanmdav) April 18, 2017
Muhammed yelled "Allahu akbar" but the AP thought the ambiguity was better journalism pic.twitter.com/h8B8jZnzHx
— The Safest Space (@TheSafestSpace) April 18, 2017
Once again, @AP is lying. “Allahu Akbar” is what he actually shouted.
This was a lone wolf Muslim terror attack AP is trying to cover up. https://t.co/fphVDIR68V
— Bob Owens (@bob_owens) April 18, 2017
This is a new low for the AP #fakenews This is why no one trusts you! He yelled "Allahu Akbar" NOT "God is Great" #fresno
— Bell Moses (@americanbell38) April 18, 2017
He shouted "allahu akbar" but PC way of saying this by @AP is that he shouted "God is great" in Arabic… https://t.co/H4Fmnx381J
— Nick Short (@PoliticalShort) April 18, 2017
The AP’s story on the shooting noted that Muhammed said the words in Arabic, but still reported it as “God is great” instead of “Allahu Akbar.”
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