In case you missed it, the people at the Associated Press (AP) responsible for the style guide tweeted out an amendment to their preferences. It’s a common practice, but this level of ridicule is not.
(Daily Wire) In a tweet posted Thursday morning, the AP Stylebook instructed journalists who work with the organization not to use “dehumanizing” collective terms for people, such as “the French.” …
“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,” the AP Stylebook wrote in the now-deleted tweet. “And use these descriptions only when clearly relevant.”
Even the French Embassy got in on the ridicule.
I guess this is us now… https://t.co/YFybgfI2AB pic.twitter.com/LrKvgjiw1X
— French Embassy U.S. (@franceintheus) January 26, 2023
“We just wondered what the alternative to the French would be,” French embassy spokesman Pascal Confavreux told The New York Times. “I mean, really.”
The apparent difficulty here, as noted in another mocking tweet (this one by Elon Musk), is that by suggesting the change, the Associated Press dehumanized itself.
“So then why do call yourself ‘The’ Associated Press”
Good news for Ukraine, of course. They must have seen this coming.
