NPR ripped for now-deleted tweet noting 'disappointment' after Boston elected its first person of color as mayor. Why? Michelle Wu isn't black.
Well, that was awkward.
Far-left leaning National Public Radio got an earful Tuesday after tweeting about Michelle Wu becoming the first woman and first person of color to take office as Boston's mayor.
What are the details?
And why would that be controversial? Because the second part of NPR's tweet noted the "disappointment" felt over the fact that black candidates weren't anywhere near Wu in the hunt for victory.
The now-deleted tweet read, "Michelle Wu, an Asian American, is the first woman of color elected to lead the city. While many are hailing it as a turning point, others see it as a more of a disappointment that the three Black candidates couldn't even come close."
And notable observers didn't take kindly to the tweet:
Ponder this deleted tweet by @NPR. Imagine the kind of worldview one has to think this way\u2014hyper race consciousness, obsession with racial hierarchies, and merit & fairness inversion. Now imagine an entire channel devoted to promulgating this ideology. That is what NPR has becomepic.twitter.com/Y9MEXTIXvs
— Peter Boghossian (@peterboghossian) 1637088078
So it's a "disappointment" to have an Asian, rather than Black, mayor\n\nWhatever happened to #StopAsianHate?
— Lauren Chen (@TheLaurenChen) 1637084863
NPR appears to be having a struggle session because the wrong type of female minority won the Boston mayoral election.pic.twitter.com/FPwKHbEB0a
— Drew Holden (@DrewHolden360) 1637089818
Michelle Wu, an Asian American, is the first woman first person of color elected to lead the city of #Boston. But woke @NPR thinks Wu's win is a let down.https://www.npr.org/2021/11/16/1055972179/boston-first-black-mayor\u00a0\u2026
— Helen Raleigh (@HRaleighspeaks) 1637091107
The tweet by @NPR was deleted but here is a screenshot.\n\nNPR demonstrates once again it is undeserving of taxpayer funded grants.pic.twitter.com/qPEmI6rNAd
— Andy Ng\u00f4 \ud83c\udff3\ufe0f\u200d\ud83c\udf08 (@MrAndyNgo) 1637087540
According to Independent Journal Review, the headline of NPR's related story initially read, "Cheers and some letdown as 1st elected woman and person of color becomes Boston Mayor."
But that all changed hours later, IJR said.
It seems NPR got the message that they were out of line loud and clear, and the outlet said it deleted the initial "disappointment" tweet and did a do-over: "We realize we don't always get things right the first time, and our previous tweet/headline misrepresented the story. We deleted the previous tweet, which was causing harm, and have updated the story."
We realize we don't always get things right the first time, and our previous tweet/headline misrepresented the story. \n\nWe deleted the previous tweet, which was causing harm, and have updated the story
— NPR (@NPR) 1637087776
The story's new headline reads, "Why Boston will need to wait longer for its 1st elected Black mayor."
However, the opening paragraph of the story still reads much the same as the problematic initial tweet: "For the first time in its history, Boston is inaugurating a newly-elected mayor on Tuesday who is not a white man. Michelle Wu — who's Asian American — is the first woman and first person of color elected to lead the city. While many are hailing it as a major turning point, others see it as more of a disappointment that the three Black candidates in the race couldn't even come close."
(H/T: IJR)