- A tweet by an account linked to the Associated Press caused controversy on the site.
- The tweet, intended to offer a writing tip to avoid offending groups, led to concerns about it being offensive, screenshots show.
The Associated Press deleted a tweet the news organization later said was "inappropriate," after the outlet used what it called a "dehumanizing" label to describe a group of people.
An account linked to the Associated Press, which often offers style tips for writers and journalists, used the phrase "the French" Thursday to refer to French people.
The news outlet deleted the tweet Friday, saying it caused "unintended offense." It later sent a series of tweets taking back the language used in the original style tip.
"The use of "the French" in this tweet by @AP was inappropriate and has caused unintended offense. An updated tweet is upcoming," the Associated Press wrote.
The original tweet, sent on the company's AP Stylebook account, offered advice on use of the word "the" when referring to a group of people, according to screenshots captured by Twitter users.
"We recommend avoiding general and often dehumanizing "the" labels such as the poor, the mentally ill, the French, the college-educated. Instead, use wording such as people with mental illnesses. And use these descriptions only when clearly relevant," the deleted tweet appeared to read.
—Alessandro (@polisisti) January 27, 2023
In a later tweet the AP revised its style tip, erasing its original use of the phrase "the French."
"We recommend avoiding general and often dehumanizing "the" labels such as the poor, the mentally ill, the disabled, the college-educated. Instead, use wording such as people with mental illnesses. And use these descriptions only when clearly relevant," the revised tweet read.
—The Associated Press (@AP) January 27, 2023
Below the news organization's original rollback of the tweet, users took to humor as the Associated Press worked to mitigate the tweet's effect.
"It didn't cause "unintended offense." It was actually the best thing on Twitter since Elon took over," one user wrote.
—Paul Graham (@paulg) January 27, 2023