There have been numerous controversies surrounding the
Post:
- In 1997, a national news story concerning Rebecca Sealfon's victory in the Scripps National Spelling Bee circulated. Sealfon was sponsored by the Daily News, a direct in-market competitor. The Post published a picture of her but altered the photograph to remove the name of the Daily News as printed on a placard she was wearing.[36]
- On November 8, 2000, the Post printed "BUSH WINS!" in a huge headline,[37] although the presidential election remained in doubt because of the recount needed in Florida. Like thePost, many other newspapers around the country published a similar headline after the four major TV networks called the election for George W. Bush.
- On March 10, 2004, the Post re-ran as a full-color page one photograph,[38] a photograph that had already been run three days earlier in black and white on page 9, showing the 24-story suicide plunge of a New York University student, who had since been identified as 19-year-old Diana Chien, daughter of a prominent Silicon Valley, California, businessman. Among criticisms leveled at the Post [39] was their addition of a tightly cropped inset photograph of Chien, a former high-school track athlete, depicting her in mid-jump from an athletic meet, giving the false impression that it was taken during her fatal act, despite the fact that she had fallen face up.
- On July 6, 2004, the Post ran an article claiming to have learned exclusively that Senator John Kerry, the Democratic Party's Presidential nominee-in-waiting, had selected former House Minority Leader Dick Gephardt to be the party's Vice Presidential nominee. The article, under the headline "KERRY'S CHOICE", ran without a byline.[40] The next day, the Post had to print a new story, "KERRY'S REAL CHOICE", reporting Kerry's actual selection of Senator John Edwards of North Carolina as his running mate.
- On April 21, 2006, several Asian-American advocacy groups protested the use of the headline "Wok This Way" for a Post article about Bush's meeting with the Hu Jintao, President of the People's Republic of China.[41]
- On September 27, 2006, the Post published an article called "Powder Puff Spooks Keith" that made fun of Countdown host Keith Olbermann receiving an anthrax threat from an unknown terrorist.[42]
- On December 7, 2006, the Post doctored a front-page photograph to depict the co-chairmen of the Iraq Study Group, James Baker and Lee Hamilton, in primate fur, under the headline "SURRENDER MONKEYS", inspired by a once-used line from The Simpsons. In defense of the "Surrender Monkeys" headline, media contributor Simon Dumenco wrote an Ad Agearticle about his love for the Post.[43]
- On February 18, 2009, the Post ran a cartoon by Sean Delonas that depicted a white police officer saying to another white police officer who has just shot a chimpanzee on the street: "They'll have to find someone else to write the next stimulus bill." The cartoon dually referred to President Obama and to the recent rampage of Travis, a former chimpanzee actor; it was criticized as being in bad taste, primarily by making a reference to the racist stereotype of African-Americans being portrayed as apes.[44] Civil rights activist Al Sharpton called the cartoon "troubling at best given the historic racist attacks of African-Americans as being synonymous with monkeys."[45] The Post has defended itself by stating that the cartoon was deliberately misinterpreted by its critics.[46]
- On December 4, 2012, the Post used a picture taken by a freelance photographer, R. Umar Abbasi, of a 58-year-old man identified as Ki Suk Han struggling to climb back up onto the platform 49th Street Station in New York City as a subway train approached. The caption on the front read, "Pushed on the subway track, this man is about to die" on top, and "DOOMED" in large, boldface print on the bottom. The image caused outrage among many, as its use was viewed as exploiting a tragedy for commercial gain. Abbasi stated that he was not strong enough to pull the man up, and attempted to use the flash on his camera to alert the driver of the oncoming train.[47]
- Aspects of the Post's coverage of the 2013 Boston Marathon bombings were criticized. The Post reported in several stories on the day of the attack that the death toll was 12, while most organizations reported two and then three fatalities. In addition, they reported that a Saudi national was being held as a suspect, but Boston Police denied this and said they had no suspects in custody.[48] Additionally, the April 18 cover of the Post featured a full-page photo of two young men the paper described as being sought by law enforcement in possible connection with the attack. CBS News reporter John Miller reported that the two men are not considered suspects by the FBI. The apparent insinuation by the Post that they were suspects was denounced by media critics.[49] In June 2013, the two men sued the Post for libel over the story.[50]
- On January 5, 2014, following the abduction and gruesome murder of Jewish Brooklyn businessman Menachem Stark,[51] the Post cover story featured a picture of the victim dressed in his traditional Hasidic garb accompanied by the headline asking "Who didn't want him dead?"[52] That front page sparked outrage for its insinuation that the murder was justified vigilantism.[53][54][55][56][57] On that same day, some New York City elected officials condemned the Post's cover story. In a press conference led by Brooklyn borough president Eric Adams,[58] New York City Public Advocate Letitia James declared,"Today [the New York Post has] given license to murder!" James then asked that "every government official should refrain from advertising in the New York Post, every government official should withdraw any governmental notice from the New York Post, and everyone should condemn the New York Post." [59]
The
Post and the
Daily News often take potshots at each other's work and accuracy, particularly in their respective gossip-page items.
In certain editions of the February 14, 2007, newspaper, an article referring to then-Senator
Hillary Clinton's support base for her
2008 presidential run referred to then-Senator
Barack Obama as "
Osama";
[60] the paper realized its error and corrected it for the later editions and the website.
[61] The
Post noted the error and apologized in the February 15, 2007, edition.
[62]Earlier, on January 20, 2007, the
Post received some criticism
[63] for running a potentially misleading headline, "'Osama' Mud Flies at Obama",
[64] for a story that discussed rumors that Obama had been raised as a
Muslim and concealed it.
