George Floyd died in police custody on May 25, 2020. That fact is undisputed. Pretty much no one could forget the video footage that was shared across all media outlets and the protests and demonstrations that followed. Though, it would appear, the actual details of the situation are a little fuzzy to some in the media.
WaPo writes that George Floyd "was shot & killed in police custody."
He was never shot. He died of cardiopulmonary arrest & official autopsy found nothing to "support a diagnosis of traumatic asphyxia or strangulation." His blood had 11 ng/mL of fentanyl.https://t.co/xtqA23zfk3 pic.twitter.com/27QapU2zaK
— Andy Ngô 🏳️🌈 (@MrAndyNgo) May 24, 2022
The Washington Post quickly deleted the tweet that stated ‘George Floyd was shot and killed in police custody’ as it was called out by people who remember the case. Was it just a typo? The website, a survey on how things have changed in your community since George Floyd’s death, reportedly repeated the inaccuracy.
By the way, this isn't a tweet error. Click through to the website and it repeats, "On May 25, 2020 George Floyd was shot and killed in police custody" https://t.co/HgZX1c8V5I
— Sunny McSunnyface (@sunnyright) May 24, 2022
The survey currently does not repeat the wording, likely it was quickly updated as well.
The Washington Post may have misrepresented the narrative by mistake, but an appropriate rationing of hilarity took aim at the mistake.
The Cops were so racist they time traveled back to 2020 and SHOT George Floyd pic.twitter.com/xiJRjEtOox
— TheQuartering (Humble Bean Merchant) (@TheQuartering) May 24, 2022
George Floyd was a scientist working on a COVID vaccine before he was shot and killed. pic.twitter.com/ZL6X8pxh96
— The Failing NY Times (@FormerNewspaper) May 24, 2022
Wa Po did not care to fully explain the error, but did admit to deleting the original tweet.
We've deleted a previous tweet for this form that included language that was changed after publish.
— The Washington Post (@washingtonpost) May 24, 2022
Look, errors happen, we have all made them. Tweets get deleted. Headlines get corrected. Why does this one matter?
All of you who think the media just makes stuff up obviously don’t remember when George Floyd was shot by police pic.twitter.com/gZF9KXBvMF
— Denlesks (@Denlesks) May 24, 2022
The media presented a unified narrative that stoked racial tension regarding George Floyd’s death. The case was reviewed and debated for months. There were riots, destruction, and mayhem surrounding the circumstances of Floyd’s death from one side of the debate. On the other side of the debate, people grappled with the narrative trying to understand the facts of the case and the actions of everyone involved. A general mistrust of the media and the agenda that fueled the outrage of groups like Black Lives Matter was not helpful in convincing some that the George Floyd case was an outright example of police brutality rooted in racism.
How is anyone supposed to know what is true when the media shows how easily a narrative is presented by misrepresenting specific incident, reportedly by error, that so many people remember accurately according to the details that were shared previously?
Keep holding your media accountable folks.
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