'Enjoy the ratio'! AP's tweet on Jussie Smollett (and others) 'bending the truth' is an EPIC fail

It’s time again to play “what’s wrong with this tweet?” Today’s contestant is the Associated Press, which had the following take:

Brian Williams, Manti Te'o and now Jussie Smollett: Here's a look at public figures accused of bending the truth. https://t.co/C4hm6HlDxM

— The Associated Press (@AP) February 22, 2019

Really, AP?

“Bending.”

Enjoy the ratio on this. https://t.co/H7Q769nmVL

— Dana Loesch (@DLoesch) February 22, 2019

The AP succeeded in getting a lot of eyes rolling all at once, for several different reasons:

Excuse me @AP, but Manti Te'o was the *victim* of a hoax. Try again and do better. https://t.co/beKTwd2tIy

— Ed Morrissey (@EdMorrissey) February 22, 2019

This comparison is an embarrassment for the AP, and an injustice to Te'o, who was the victim of a hoax, not a participant in one. https://t.co/PhEFszJdfB

— Frank Nolan (@FX_Nolan) February 22, 2019

The AP is a super serious journalisming organization.

You can tell by the way they put Manti Te'o in this group of liars, when Te'o was actually the victim of a hoax. https://t.co/Qb7u7L7imx

— RBe (@RBPundit) February 22, 2019

And that’s mentioned in the AP’s story, but the tweet is a different matter. As for Smollett (and Williams to a far lesser degree), “bending the truth” is an incredibly generous way to put it:

Since when is “bending” a synonym for “made up out of whole cloth to smear my political enemies”?

— BattleSwarm (@BattleSwarmBlog) February 22, 2019

You mean lying.

— Jeremy (@JayBird374) February 22, 2019

Bending the truth is not what happened here. He flat out fabricated and staged a racist attack to advance his career. There was 0 truth to bend. https://t.co/oeaknSE49H

— Zachary Himes (@zhimes97) February 22, 2019

The word is "lie" not "bend the truth". ? https://t.co/aPIgr2nOsY

— Katie the ED RN ?? (@katiewRN) February 22, 2019

Their headline is bending the truth.

— Dennis (@RepressedDennis) February 22, 2019

Lmao!!! Bending??????

— Ray Rod (@RayRod0469) February 22, 2019

Journalism!