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The New York Times changed a headline on Wednesday to eliminate its claim that late al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden was a “devoted family man.”
The headline appeared on a review by Louise Richardson of Peter Bergen’s book, The Rise and Fall of Osama Bin Laden. The review, published on Tuesday, was originally titled, “Osama bin Laden, the Fanatical Terrorist and the Devoted Family Man.”
Critics quickly took note. “Nothing screams family man like using your (multiple) wives as human shields,” former Navy SEAL Rep. Dan Crenshaw (R-TX), who lost an eye to an improvised explosive device during a deployment in Afghanistan, wrote on Twitter.
Nothing screams family man like using your (multiple) wives as human shields.https://t.co/89avbyiG4W
— Dan Crenshaw (@DanCrenshawTX) August 3, 2021
“Once considered the ‘paper of record,’ the New York Times now runs editorials describing the monster responsible for killing thousands of New Yorkers as a ‘devoted family man,'” opined Wesley Hunt, an Army veteran running for Congress as a Republican. “It’s no wonder why so many Americans are disillusioned with our media.”
Once considered the “paper of record”, the New York Times now runs editorials describing the monster responsible for killing thousands of New Yorkers as a, “devoted family man.” It’s no wonder why so many Americans are disillusioned with our media. https://t.co/T9AwBfm866
— Wesley Hunt (@WesleyHuntTX) August 3, 2021
Fox News also took note in a segment with Joey Jones, a Marine Corps veteran who lost his legs to an IED in Afghanistan. “Nothing about this man was devoted to his family,” Jones said. “It was 100 percent devoted to selfish causes that were murdering people.”
The backlash prompted the paper to edit the review by Wednesday. The revision was titled, “A Fuller Picture of Osama bin Laden’s Life.” An archived copy of the original remains online courtesy of the Wayback Machine.
