Forty-seven years ago, Palestinian terrorists from the Black September organization were responsible for the murder of 11 Israeli athletes after taking them hostage at the 1972 Munich Olympics.
This was how the Associated Press (AP) marked the infamous event on Twitter:
So, according to AP, those responsible were not terrorists but “guerrillas” who were members of a “Palestinian group.”
So far, so insulting.
Related reading: The Munich Massacre: The 1972 Slaughter of Israeli Athletes on German Soil
After receiving a roasting from Twitter users, AP removed the tweet and announced the following:
If you were expecting a new and improved tweet from the AP, prepare to be infuriated as the “correction” turns out to be as shoddy as the original. This is the result:
Having told us that the original tweet was “unclear about who was responsible for the killings,” Black September is still referred to as a “Palestinian group.”
Related reading: What is Terrorism and Why Does its Definition Matter?
But no longer are they “guerrillas.” Instead, in the way that so many media avoid using the term “terrorists” in favor of various interchangeable terminology, this time the chosen description is “gunmen.”
Related reading: Defining Bias: Misleading Terminology
By doing so, AP has sanitized those responsible for this appalling act. The Palestinian terrorists who infiltrated the Olympic Village had one target out of all the nationalities present. This was not the act of “gunmen” but terrorists and if the AP really wished to make it clear who was responsible for the killings, it should say so.
Help us continue the pressure on AP by retweeting HonestReporting on Twitter – https://twitter.com/HonestReporting/status/1170675477054394368?
© Divuach Ne’eman R”A, 2025
