The Associated Press deleted a tweet Tuesday that quoted a false claim President Donald Trump made directly and without any context, after getting pushback from some political observers.
We have deleted a tweet about President Trump’s claim that the U.S. is the only country that grants birthright citizenship because it failed to note that his statement was incorrect.
— AP Politics (@AP_Politics) October 30, 2018
The original tweet:
The article the tweet links to does factcheck the claim and point out that, per a 2010 study from the Center for Immigration Studies, at least 30 countries allow birthright citizenship.
The criticism centered around the fact that the tweet presented the President’s claim as truth, when few laymen have the requisite background to know that it’s false.
From the Washington Post fact checker:
Hey @AP_Politics why do you feature a completely false — and easily checkable Trump quote — in a tweet? 33 countries allow it, including Mexico and Canada. You should delete this. https://t.co/5Cb2B89bAj
— Glenn Kessler (@GlennKesslerWP) October 30, 2018
Journalists are still reckoning with reporting in the time of Trump, a President who lies or misleads at much higher rates than his predecessors and for whom fact checking is a constant and immediate requirement.
AP Delenda Est.
“AP Politics” should delete this tweet?
Better idea for “AP Politics”: Delete your account.
How effing long would it have taken someone to fact check this?!
Do your jobs!
AP, cura te ipsum.
tRump’s tweets are Fake News. Why is anyone reporting this garbage?