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Headline-writing can be hard, chaps. Especially when you have to capture the true spirit of a person in the light of their death. But with the demise of Isis founder Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, a truly heinous individual, surely putting his character into black and white is a black-and-white issue.
If you’re the Washington Post, apparently not, as Spectator contributor Kelly Jane Torrance was one of the first to point out.
”Austere religious scholar at helm of Islamic State dies at 48” reads the headline of WashPost’s obituary of Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi. “Austere”? What an insult to the late Kayla Mueller, a captured American who was repeatedly raped by the ISIS leader before the group murdered her. pic.twitter.com/ms242oQ0Nj
— Kelly Jane Torrance (@KJTorrance) October 27, 2019
‘Austere religious scholar at helm of Islamic State dies at 48’, the paper crowed, dolefully commemorating the life of the man who inspired hundreds of deaths.
Obviously, the headline of his obituary has since been changed. ‘Regarding our al-Baghdadi obituary, the headline should never have read that way and we changed it quickly,’ tweeted Post communications VP Kristine Coratti Kelly. But not before Twitter wags started to chip in with some of their #WaPoDeathNotices. Here are Cockburn’s favorites…
Adolf Hitler, passionate community planner and dynamic public speaker, dies at 56.#WaPoDeathNotices
— Jason Howerton (@jason_howerton) October 27, 2019
Ted Bundy, unconventional pickup artist, dies, shockingly, at 42 #WaPoDeathNotices
— Harry Khachatrian (@Harry1T6) October 27, 2019
#WaPoDeathNotices Joseph Stalin, former seminarian and noted agrarian reformer, dead at 74.
— Stephen F. Knott (@publius57) October 27, 2019
#WaPoDeathNotices Innovative chef and ground breaking feminist Lucrezia Borgia dies at 39.
— Walter Russell Mead (@wrmead) October 27, 2019
Emperor Palpatine, austere holder of emergency powers and advocate for democracy, died after a fall. #WaPoDeathNotices
— Robby Soave (@robbysoave) October 27, 2019
"Joseph Stalin, advocate of a strong working class and population control, dies at 74" #WaPoDeathNotices pic.twitter.com/CPDAGbH125
— Josh Jordan (@NumbersMuncher) October 27, 2019
https://twitter.com/JesseKellyDC/status/1188511134946680833
Jeffrey Epstein, noted Island Hopper, dies tragically at 66.#WaPoDeathNotices pic.twitter.com/koVpKvEu2p
— Dan Crenshaw's Eyepatch (@DansEyepatch) October 27, 2019
Jack Torrance, author of notable self-help book on work/life balance, found dead outside hotel. #WaPoDeathNotices pic.twitter.com/rGvPpKGrsv
— Dan Wilbur (@DanWilbur) October 27, 2019
https://twitter.com/JoshsBurnerAcct/status/1188501048471838721
Ted Kaczynski, green-fingered mathematician… pic.twitter.com/9xm1IvGXir
— Ben Sixsmith (@BDSixsmith) October 27, 2019
Sauron, passionate collector of rare jewelry, dead, age unknown. #WaPoDeathNotices
— Mike Sell, PhD (@mike_sell) October 27, 2019
Lucifer, an angelic and ambitious religious leader known as the “shining one,” died yesterday after a fall. #WaPodeathnotices
— John Durant (@johndurant) October 27, 2019
Got a tip for Cockburn? Email cockburn@spectator.us.
