Photo: Josh Morgan ~ USA TODAY NETWORK
DETROIT, Sept. 23, 2024 ~ Michigan politicians have slammed the Detroit News after one of their writers made a political cartoon published last week featuring U.S. Rep. Rashida Thlaib (MI-12) that has been widely labeled as “racist” and “Islamophobic.”
The cartoon was created by Detroit News auto critic Henry Payne for the right-wing outlet, the National Review, which depicts Tlaib, the only Palestinian-American in Congress, sitting at her desk next to a burnt pager thinking, “Odd. My pager just exploded.” This was referring to a recent attack in Lebanon believed to have been conducted by Israel that exploded pager across the country, which aimed to target the organization Hezbollah, but also killed multiple civilians, including two children. The cartoon seemed to falsely link Thlaib to Hezbollah.
PODCAST:
Sept. 23, 2024 ~ After Israel’s pager and walkie-talkie attacks in Lebanon last week that killed dozens, including children, Israel and Hezbollah both threatened to increase their cross-border attacks, despite international appeals for them to step back. Johnathan Savage, Fox News radio correspondent, talks about it with Guy Gordon, Lloyd Jackson, and Jamie Edmonds.
Thank you, Mayor @AHammoudMI, for speaking up. Our community is already in so much pain right now. This racism will incite more hate + violence against our Arab & Muslim communities, and it makes everyone less safe. It’s disgraceful that the media continues to normalize this… https://t.co/JTn2mur4Yj
— Rashida Tlaib (@RashidaTlaib) September 20, 2024
(CONTINUED) “This racism will incite more hate + violence against our Arab & Muslim communities, and it makes everyone less safe,” Thlaib posted on X. “It’s disgraceful that the media continues to normalize this racism.“
In a statement to the media, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer called the cartoon a “vile” example of racism. The Detroit News Opinion account on X clarified that while Payne is employed by the paper, the outlet did not distribute the cartoon.
The editorial cartoon depicting Rep. Rashida Tlaib circulating today was distributed by @AndrewsMcMeel. The @DetroitNews was not involved in its creation or distribution and chose not to run it. The cartoonist is employed by The News in a different capacity, as an auto critic.
— Detroit News Opinion (@DetNewsOpinion) September 20, 2024
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