The New York Times was mocked Tuesday evening after publishing advice on how people can “cope” with the results of the midterm elections, which included telling readers to “breathe like a baby.”
The Times tweeted out a graphic instructing readers to try the following five tips “to soothe election stress”:
- Try five-finger breathing. Trace the outside of your hand with your pointer finger. When you trace up, breathe in, and when you trace down, breathe out.
- Cool down. Plunge your face into a bowl with ice water for 15 to 30 seconds.
- Move. Even a walk around the block can offer some relief for an uneasy mind.
- Breathe like a baby. Focus on expanding your belly as you breathe, which can send more oxygen to the brain.
- Limit your scrolling. Consider plotting out specific times when you will look for election updates.
“Maybe you shouldn’t have spent six months convincing your gullible readers that democracy will end if their party loses,” radio host Dan O’Donnell responded.
“See? They know. It’s bad,” political commentator Mike Cernovich tweeted. “NYT knows it’s time to accept defeat. God help them if they try to cheat. It will be so obvious.”
New York Post reporter Jon Levine tweeted, “Could you imagine conservative media talking to their readers this way.”
“This is embarrassing,” journalist Andy Ngo tweeted.
Writer Mark Hemingway responded, “Well, you can’t say the NYT doesn’t know its subscriber base…”
“If you’re plunging your face into a bowl of ice water because of the NYT election needle, I think you might want to talk to somebody,” journalist Ben Dreyfuss tweeted.
“The polls haven’t closed yet and we’ve already reached the ‘plunge your face in ice water’ and ‘breathe like a baby’ stages of grief for the mainstream media,” radio host Gerry Callahan tweeted.
“This group therapy s**t – whether it’s this or late-night TV – has got to stop,” political commentator Becket Adams tweeted. “It’s all so childish.”
“OMG The New York Times is already playing therapist with their woke readership,” NewsBusters Managing Editor Curtis Houck tweeted. “Tonight is gonna be incredible.”