The New York Times has been slammed for editing out sexual misconduct allegations against Joe Biden after suggesting unwanted “hugs, kisses and touching” don’t constitute as “sexual misconduct.”
On Sunday, the publication shared an article examining the sexual assault allegations against Biden from his former staffer Tara Reade. Ms Reade accused the Democratic presidential candidate of placing his hand up her skirt and penetrating her with his fingers in 1992 while she worked in his senate office.
The piece originally claimed that The Times “found no pattern of sexual misconduct by Mr. Biden, beyond the hugs, kisses and touching that women previously said made them uncomfortable.”
That statement was soon after dropped and changed to simply read: “The Times found no pattern of sexual misconduct by Mr. Biden.” They also went on to suggest that the alleged victims may be breaking the law by making a police report.
NYT not only deleted the tweet but stealth edited their piece to remove their own findings about Biden & other women. They also suggest an alleged victim may be breaking the law by making a police report. Toxic clusterfuck. pic.twitter.com/aA7wTgi5xB
— Rita Panahi (@RitaPanahi) April 12, 2020
The publication also shared the original statement in a tweet, saying: “No other allegation about sexual assault surfaced in the course of our reporting, nor did any former Biden staff corroborate Reade’s allegation. We found no pattern of sexual misconduct by Biden, beyond hugs, kisses and touching that women previously said made them uncomfortable.”
I can't believe I'm actually seeing this lol pic.twitter.com/f5bQEcvljQ
— Orwell & Goode (@OrwellNGoode) April 12, 2020
The Times later deleted the tweet, saying the language used was imprecise: “We’ve deleted a tweet in this threat that had some imprecise language that has been changed in the story.”
We've deleted a tweet in this thread that had some imprecise language that has been changed in the story.
— The New York Times (@nytimes) April 12, 2020
So, as it turns out, in the #MeToo era, when we’re told we’re supposed to #BelieveAllWomen, what they really mean is, provided the accusations are brought against a Republican, like Brett Kavanaugh.