The Washington Post was forced to change the headline of one of its most recent op-eds after widespread criticism, as Fox News reports.
The article in question, by Julia Azari, was critical of the current primary process for the Democratic Party’s presidential nomination. It was originally titled “It’s time to give the elites a bigger say in choosing the president.” Azari tried to claim that the current frontrunner status of Senator Bernie Sanders (D-Vt.), and the election of President Donald Trump, as proof that primary systems are “too democratic,” and that “elites” are necessary to “make that [process] a bit more informed.”
The article was slammed for its anti-democratic and elitist overtones, with many taking to social media to criticize it for being tone-deaf in the context of how Sanders was robbed of the 2016 nomination by “superdelegates,” who were handpicked by the Democratic establishment to sway that contest in Hillary Clinton’s favor.
Far-left commentator Yashar Ali tweeted, “This is a real op-ed in the Washington Post. I don’t know what to say,” while GQ columnist Laura Bassett said that she thought the title was satire. Even Donald Trump Jr. weighed in, saying that “the Democrats are losing their minds trying to rig this election. See the Bezos/Amazon Washington Post headline below.”
Following the backlash, the title was changed to “It’s time to switch to preference primaries.” This is the latest instance of the Post being forced to change a title due to widespread condemnation, with another infamous incident being the title of their obituary for ISIS founder Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, which labeled him an “austere religious scholar.” After universal backlash, the title was changed to “extremist leader of Islamic State.”