The Washington Post is promoting an article claiming the U.S. Capitol building walls are still adorned by artworks of more than 140 slavers.
The article claimed a total of 141 enslavers, 13 Confederates and six possible enslavers are depicted in 139 artworks in the Capitol as of Tuesday, Dec. 27. The article’s author, staff writer Gillian Brockell, said the Washington Post analyzed over 400 artworks at the Capitol and found that one-third of artworks honor enslavers or confederates.
Exclusive: A Washington Post investigation of more than 400 artworks in the U.S. Capitol building found that nearly one-third honor enslavers or Confederates. https://t.co/VTLeBgfpG0
— The Washington Post (@washingtonpost) December 28, 2022
“When the 118th Congress is sworn in on Jan. 3, its members will walk the halls of a building whose paintings and statues pay homage to 141 enslavers,” Brockell wrote
According to Fox News, users mocked the article after The Washington Post tweeted a link to the article on its official Twitter page.
Author of War Against Boys, Christina Hoff Sommers, saw the irony of the media outlet being named after George Washington, and told the Washington Post to “change your name or pipe down.”
Becket Adams, a Columnist at the DC Examiner, criticized the Washington Post for claiming the article was exclusive when all the information was publicly available.
lololol i sorta love that an article based entirely on publicly available information and pacing around the capitol with a notepad is being promoting as "exclusive", as if archeologists opened king tut's tomb for the first time and granted them special access. https://t.co/DGvRWb399J
— T. Becket Adams (@BecketAdams) December 28, 2022
“Remember that time just 5 years ago when the Washington Post assured us that various statue removal movements were not going to be a slippery slope to George Washington and Thomas Jefferson?” Director of the American Institute for Economic Research, Phil Magness rhetorically asked.
The Washington Post faced accusations of “aiding and abetting the mob” after posting an article in 2021 detailing the locations of monuments honoring Christopher Columbus. Fox News contributor Joe Concha described the article as an example of journalism morphing into outright activism.
“Democracy dies in darkness. So does irony. Because this ain’t reporting. This is aiding and abetting the mob,” Concha said.
The article included a map that allowed readers to input their city, address or zip code in order to search for remaining known Columbus monuments.
“That’s where most legacy journalism is today — rationalizing vandalism and trying to cleanse America of both its Italian and Catholic roots,” Media Research Center vice president Dan Gainor Gainor told Fox News.
