The Associated Press baffled Twitter users with its latest list of labels to avoid.
On Thursday, the AP stated in a tweet, “We recommend avoiding general and often dehumanizing ‘the’ labels such as the poor, the mentally ill, the French, the disabled, the college-educated. Instead, use wording such as people with mental illnesses. And use these descriptions only when clearly relevant.”
https://twitter.com/APStylebook/status/1618658301750689792
Twitter users began mocking the outlet, with one replying, “Still laughing about this tweet.”
Still laughing about this tweet.
— Matt Whitlock (@mattdizwhitlock) January 27, 2023
“The poor, the mentally ill, the French…” https://t.co/n36EqqnheT
Creator for The Daily Wire Frank J. Fleming tweeted, “It’s the inclusion of ‘the French’ in the middle of the list that makes this tweet comic genius.”
It's the inclusion of "the French" in the middle of the list that makes this tweet comic genius. https://t.co/9kyeLXbeAz
— Frank J. Fleming (@IMAO_) January 26, 2023
Podcast host Saagar Enjeti wrote, “Two things I can’t stand in this world: People who dehumanize others and THE French.”
Two things I can’t stand in this world: People who dehumanize others and THE French https://t.co/7PREK2VaR1
— Saagar Enjeti (@esaagar) January 26, 2023
The Embassy of France even replied to the tweet, saying, “I guess this is us now…” including a photo of the change to its Twitter account.
“Embassy of Frenchness in the US,” the change reads.
I guess this is us now… https://t.co/YFybgfI2AB pic.twitter.com/LrKvgjiw1X
— Embassy of France in the U.S. (@franceintheus) January 26, 2023
Check out more replies below:
People with Frenchness https://t.co/uxJYOp1QER
— Justin Whang 🐙 (@JustinWhang) January 26, 2023
Remember this absurdity next time you see an AP ‘fact-check’ which @facebook & @instagram use to censor posts, articles & even memes. https://t.co/ae04umzHFQ
— Rita Panahi (@RitaPanahi) January 26, 2023
https://twitter.com/dushanwegner/status/1618929401802133510
I agree. “The French” is deeply offensive as it marginalizes people from France. https://t.co/wC6mrwczWP
— Gad Saad (@GadSaad) January 27, 2023
I prefer the more sensitive ‘people experiencing Frenchness’ https://t.co/hMG3t7rrh0
— Ed West (@edwest) January 26, 2023
“the poor, the mentally ill, the french”
— Shibetoshi Nakamoto (@BillyM2k) January 26, 2023
this is an amazing tweet. you wouldn’t be able to tell if buzzfeed wrote it or the babylon bee wrote it https://t.co/iBjX3njIGB
I recommend you avoid being so pitifully woke. https://t.co/F7s0R5gfoc
— Piers Morgan (@piersmorgan) January 27, 2023
Are we supposed to call them people of Frenchness? https://t.co/6SLOWKnAum
— Sheila Gunn Reid (@SheilaGunnReid) January 27, 2023
This is not the first time The Associated Press has angered Twitter with changes to language.
When it comes to fetal heartbeat bills and six-week abortion bans, the AP advised reporters to avoid using the terms.
The AP explained, “The terms are overly broad and misleading given the disagreement over details, such as what constitutes a heartbeat at varying gestational ages.”
The guide went on, saying, “Advanced technology can detect a flickering as early as six weeks, when the embryo isn’t yet a fetus, and it has only begun forming a rudimentary heart. The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists [ACOG] says it is not accurate to call that a heartbeat. Use the term cardiac activity instead.”
Dr. Christina Francis, CEO-Elect for the American Association of Pro Life Obstetricians & Gynecologists (AAPLOG), told Fox News, “ACOG only denies the existence of the embryonic heart when it inconveniences the pro-abortion agenda.”
She added, “By six weeks’ gestation, the human embryo has developed an organ that contracts rhythmically to pump blood through its body, aiding in the exchange of carbon dioxide and oxygen in the blood — in other words, a heart.”