U.S. News & World Report is in trouble over the use of photo of a turban-wearing Sikh soldier that accompanied the piece headlined “How Terrorism Is Taught Around The World.” Apparently the people were not happy.
The story, posted on January 23, explores “how 9/11 turned terrorism into a hot topic” and “what students learn about it in academia” in the post-9/11 world.
The outlet did not issue a public apology. But following the backlash, the image was soon replaced with a photo of New York’s Twin Towers with smoke coming out of the buildings after the 9/11 attacks.
Social media users and members of the Sikh community spoke out, labeling the outlet “irresponsible” and guilty of perpetuating a false stereotype.
Dear @USNews,
— Simran Jeet Singh (@SikhProf) January 26, 2018
Using this image of a Sikh in your article on 9/11 and terrorism is irresponsible and dangerous. Please take it down quickly. Please also invest in some cultural diversity training to ensure this doesn’t happen again.https://t.co/4aLyTSUQya pic.twitter.com/hDAp8qpwuQ
Dangerous journalism, contributing to religious illiteracy, fueling stereotypes, and contributing to discrimination and violence against Sikhs. I've written to the editors of @USNews and the author @sintiaradu, requesting that this inaccurate and consequential image be removed.
— Nathan C. Walker (@revnate) January 27, 2018
Using the apparent image of a Sikh in this @USNews story examining post 9/11 terrorism is reckless and we will be seeking a correction and apology immediately https://t.co/IJnue61Rcy
— Sikh Coalition (@sikh_coalition) January 27, 2018
To @usnews, when you retweet the article it still shares the reckless image of what appears to be a Sikh man that falsely conflates Sikhs with terrorism. Please fix and issue public apology. https://t.co/IJnue61Rcy
— Sikh Coalition (@sikh_coalition) January 27, 2018
