Hours after it was confirmed that top Iranian general Qassem Soleimani was killed via a Trump-ordered airstrike, New York Times reporter Farnaz Fassihi sought to humanize the deceased by posting a video of the terrorist reading poetry.
Soleimani, who is responsible for the deaths of hundreds of Americans (an estimated 608), was killed in an airstrike carried out on Friday near Baghdad International Airport.
According to Fox News, “Soleimani was the head of the Iranian and Iranian-backed forces carrying out those operations killing American troops” during the Iraq War. “According to the State Department, 17 percent of all deaths of U.S. personnel in Iraq from 2003 to 2011 were orchestrated by Soleimani.”
Democrats and their allies in the mainstream media bizarrely reacted to the news of the terrorist’s death by bashing President Trump and, at worst, seeking to humanize Soleimani, as noted by The Daily Wire. One of the worst offenders was Fassihi’s video post of Soleimani reading poetry “[a]bout friends departing & him being left behind.”
“Rare personal video of Gen. Suleimani reciting poetry shared by a source in #Iran. About friends departing & him being left behind,” the Times reporter captioned the post.
Rare personal video of Gen. Suleimani reciting poetry shared by a source in #Iran. About friends departing & him being left behind.#قاسم_سليماني pic.twitter.com/vUX4LrkMQY
— Farnaz Fassihi (@farnazfassihi) January 3, 2020
Fassihi was quickly ripped online for the post. Here’s some of the reactions:
“Austere religious poet,” responded conservative writer and podcaster Stephen Miller.
Miller was referencing another mainstream media flub. In October, The Washington Post announced the death of top ISIS terrorist Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi by referring to him as “austere religious scholar,” as noted by The Daily Wire.
Austere religious poet. https://t.co/cdyj6NIWTU
— Stephen L. Miller (@redsteeze) January 3, 2020
“Of course you’re a NY Times reporter,” said Peter Lloyd.
https://twitter.com/Suffragentleman/status/1213100118053982209
“Here’s a rare personal video of Bashar al-Assad doing the ice bucket challenge. Meant to raise awareness for ALS. It’s called reporting, folks,”mocked politico Becket Adams.
https://twitter.com/jeffdobbs/status/1213112137540947969
“Sick: This is how members of the mainstream media mark the death of a brutal terrorist leader with the blood of thousands of Americans on his hands A video of Suleimani reciting poetry is not ‘reporting the news,'” posted TPUSA founder Charlie Kirk. “It’s eulogizing a murderer.”
Sick:
This is how members of the mainstream media mark the death of a brutal terrorist leader with the blood of thousands of Americans on his hands
A video of Suleimani reciting poetry is not “reporting the news”
It’s eulogizing a murdererpic.twitter.com/zDN7bQ00Gg
— Charlie Kirk (@charliekirk11) January 3, 2020
“A NYT reporter bemoaning Suleimani’s demise. Is this all she had to say?” asked columnist Ariel Cohen. “Apparently yes.”
A NYT reporter bemoaning Suleimani’s demise. Is this all she had to say? Apparently yes. https://t.co/FCcyo8VjbJ
— Ariel Cohen, PhD (@Dr_Ariel_Cohen) January 3, 2020
“This is why I say [Farnaz Fassihi] of the [New York Times] is an apologist of #Iran‘s regime,” quote-tweeted journalist Heshmat Alavi. “See her ‘touching’ tweet about #Iran‘s IRGC Quds Force chief Qasim Soliemani, the man who commanded the killing of hundreds of thousands of innocent people across the Middle East.”
https://twitter.com/HeshmatAlavi/status/1213002832510672898
“Is this New York Times writer in charge of Iranian social media propaganda?” asked conservative Seth Weathers.
Is this New York Times writer in charge of Iranian social media propaganda? https://t.co/2xn5yrHEs3
— SETH WEATHERS (@sethweathers) January 3, 2020
“NYT reporter sharing romantic videos of Qassim Sulaimani, no wonder the NYT coverage of The US embassy attack used Iraqi civil protesters as cover,” Steven Nabil commented.
https://twitter.com/thestevennabil/status/1213002052827152384
“This man was a terrorist who murdered hundreds of American soldiers and this New York Times reporter is tweeting out video clips in an apparent effort to humanize him,” The Daily Wire’s Ryan Saavedra slammed Fassihi.
This man was a terrorist who murdered hundreds of American soldiers and this New York Times reporter is tweeting out video clips in an apparent effort to humanize him https://t.co/V1TaB5C6vM
— Ryan Saavedra (@RealSaavedra) January 3, 2020
“WTF!? This NYT reporter tweets dead terrorist general reciting poetry, I guess so we understand that he had a softer side?” posted commentator Harlan Hill.
WTF!?
This NYT reporter tweets dead terrorist general reciting poetry, I guess so we understand that he had a softer side? https://t.co/hTd1xz8j2h
— HARLAN Z. HILL 🇺🇸 (@Harlan) January 3, 2020
Fassihi later defended her post as mere objective “reporting.”
“Folks attacking me for sharing this video: It’s called reporting. It’s not an endorsement or sympathy. I share whatever info I get for all to see. That’s all,” she wrote.
Folks attacking me for sharing this video: It's called reporting. It's not an endorsement or sympathy. I share whatever info I get for all to see. That's all.
— Farnaz Fassihi (@farnazfassihi) January 3, 2020
