IS chief an 'austere religious scholar'? Netizens mock Washington Post for obit headline

Setting off hashtags like #WaPoObits and #WaPoDeathNotices trending in multiple countries, Twitter users trolled the news organization and even made threads of memes. 
Islamic State chief Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi (Photo | AFP)
Islamic State chief Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi (Photo | AFP)

The Washington Post on Sunday was trolled by Twitterati for the headline it gave to the Islamic State chief Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi's obituary. 

The headline had referred to Baghdadi as an "austere religious scholar" which was later changed to "extremist leader of Islamic State".

Setting off hashtags like #WaPoObits and #WaPoDeathNotices trending in multiple countries, Twitter users trolled the news organization by giving obituaries of famous serial killers, extremist leaders and terrorists a serious revamp.

US President Donald Trump on October 27 confirmed that the elusive leader of the Islamic State group, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, had been killed, dying "like a dog" in a daring nighttime raid by US special forces in northwest Syria.

Check out what the best of social media has to offer here!

History was rewritten. 

To be fair, Bane did go through some aggressive training before facing Batman.

Meet Thanos, the environmentalist. 

The father of 23.

A Canadian Senator added to the humorous thread. 

Indian politicians joined the bandwagon on Twitter as well. Dr Sasmit Patra, Rajya Sabha member from Odisha and Biju Janata Dal spokesperson shared some thoughts.

Kristine Coratti Kelly, the VP, Communications General Manager for Washington Post Live, admitted on Twitter that the headline "should never have read that way" and that they changed it promptly. 

Related Stories

No stories found.

X
The New Indian Express
www.newindianexpress.com