The Washington Post published a tweet including a false claim about George Floyd’s death and then deleted it.
On Monday night, the outlet tweeted, “On May 25, 2020, George Floyd was shot and killed in police custody.”
It continued, “His death sparked outrage, wide scale protests and calls to change policing. Two years later, what has — or hasn’t changed?”
Washington Post, which wants to restrict free speech to combat disinformation, can’t even get this well-known event right. pic.twitter.com/Rf4vyA61QD
— Max Abrahms (@MaxAbrahms) May 24, 2022
Shortly after the paper deleted the tweet, it posted, “Tell The Post: How have things changed in your community since George Floyd’s death?”
It added, “We’ve deleted a previous tweet for this form that included language that was changed after publish.”
We've deleted a previous tweet for this form that included language that was changed after publish.
— The Washington Post (@washingtonpost) May 24, 2022
Curtis Houck with the conservative Media Research Center explained, “Not only did The Washington Post mess this up in their tweet (left) about how George Floyd died, they did the same thing on their own website (right).”
Not only did The Washington Post mess this up in their tweet (left) about how George Floyd died, they did the same thing on their own website (right) pic.twitter.com/nWhNEAvFke
— Curtis Houck (@CurtisHouck) May 24, 2022
In May 2020, The New York Times published a piece explaining how Floyd died while in police custody.
“On May 29, the Hennepin County attorney, Mike Freeman, announced third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter charges against Derek Chauvin, the officer seen most clearly in witness videos pinning Mr. Floyd to the ground,” the Times reported.
The report continues, “Mr. Chauvin, who is white, kept his knee on Mr. Floyd’s neck for at least eight minutes and 15 seconds, according to a Times analysis of timestamped video. Our video investigation shows that Mr. Chauvin did not remove his knee even after Mr. Floyd lost consciousness and for a full minute and 20 seconds after paramedics arrived at the scene.”
In April 2021, Chauvin was found guilty of all three charges for the murder of Floyd.
Just months later, he was sentenced to 22 and half years in prison.
“Mr. Chauvin’s prolonged restraint of Mr. Floyd was also much longer and more painful than the typical scenario in a second-degree or third-degree murder or second-degree manslaughter case,” Judge Peter Cahill said.
He claimed Chauvin “abused his position of trust or authority.”
Additionally, Cahill accused Chauvin of treating Floyd with “particular cruelty.”
