Associated Press headline on terrorist leader’s death: ‘Charismatic and shrewd’

Social media users blasted the Associated Press for its recent obituary headline on Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, describing it as kinder to the terrorist leader than the obituary of the late U.S. Sen. Jim Inhofe.

The AP News headline marking Nasrallah’s death this week called the Hezbollah leader “charismatic and shrewd,” while the outlet’s headline on Inhofe’s death in July portrayed the late lawmaker in a bad light, reminding readers that he “called human-caused climate change a problem.” ‘prank.'”

Observant X users noticed the difference in tone between the two obituaries. Prominent conservative account @AGHamilton29 remarked: “This is real enemy of the people stuff.” He also noted that the article omitted Hezbollah’s “entire history of terrorism, described its mass starvation and killings as ‘participation in the conflict in neighboring Syria’, and attempted to present it as a ‘moderate.’

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Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah was killed this week by an IDF strike in Beirut. (AP Photo/Bilal Hussein)

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) confirmed that Nasrallah was killed Friday during his strike on the group’s headquarters in Lebanon. According to the military group, Nasrallah was responsible for the killing of numerous Israeli civilians and soldiers, as well as the planning and execution of thousands of terrorist activities around the world.

The Israeli military said Nasrallah was one of Hezbollah’s co-founders as well as its central decision-maker and strategic leader. The terrorist group confirmed his death following the IDF announcement.

The Associated Press published its obituary of Nasrallah on Friday, with the original headline: “Charismatic and shrewd: A look at longtime Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah.” An updated version of the article featured a new headline, reading: “Who was Hezbollah’s longtime leader, Hassan Nasrallah?” But a search of the Internet archives confirmed the existence of the most generous title.

In addition to this controversial headline, the outlet waited before labeling Hezbollah a terrorist group, referring only to the United States’ terrorist designation of the organization around the 14th paragraph of the article.

The outlet instead called Hezbollah a “Lebanese militant group” and “one of the most powerful paramilitary groups in the Middle East.” The report also describes Nasrallah as a “fiery and charismatic leader.”

X users compared AP’s characterization of Nasrallah to the outlet’s characterization of Inhofe in its obituary of the late lawmaker following his death in July, suggesting the outlet was much gentler with the terrorist leader than with the lawmaker republican.

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X users complained that the Associated Press was more critical of the late U.S. Senator Jim Inhofe in its obituary than it was of the late terrorist leader Hassan Nasrallah. (Stefani Reynolds/Getty Images)

AGHamilton posted screenshots of the two obituaries side by side, commenting: “AP on the death of a Republican senator versus the possible death of a terrorist leader responsible for tens of thousands of deaths.”

The headline of Inhofe’s AP obituary read: “Former U.S. Sen. Jim Inhofe, defense hawk who called man-made climate change a ‘hoax,’ dies at 89.”

The conservative commentator’s post sparked a barrage of criticism from other X users who were outraged at the outlet’s seemingly disparate treatment of the two men.

Conservative political cartoonist Seamus Coughlin commented, “you don’t think bad enough of the media.”

Journalist Salena Zito said: “It’s shameful.”

Radio host Mark Simone highlighted AG’s comparison as “a prime example of how corrupt and biased mainstream media has become.”

Pradheep Shanker, a radiologist and National Review columnist, asked: “Why should we respect journalists? »

Human rights lawyer Hillel Neuer blasted AP’s characterization of Nasrallah, saying: “@AP I’m sorry for your loss. ‘Charismatic and astute… an astute strategist… considered a pragmatist… idolized by his Lebanese Shiite supporters. …respected by millions of people across the Arab and Islamic world…’ Maybe next time, talk to his victims.”

When contacted by Fox News Digital for comment, an Associated Press representative said: “The headline did not accurately reflect the substance of the story, and we have changed it accordingly.” »

Peter Aitken, Lorraine Taylor, Landon Mion and Yonat Friling of Fox News Digital contributed to this report.

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