The Washington Post came under fire after it scolded the parents of an American hostage in Gaza for not publicly criticizing Israel's "assault" there and admitted last 19 July that its social media post was "unacceptable."
"Omer Neutra has been missing since the 7 October attack on Israel. When his parents speak publicly, they don't talk about Israel's assault on Gaza that has killed over 38,000 Palestinians, according to local officials. Experts have warned of looming famine," The Post wrote on X.
The Post linked to an interview the paper conducted with Omer's parents, Orna and Ronen Neutra, ahead of their speech on day three of the Republican National Convention.
The Post's social media post attracted fierce criticism before the paper took it down hours later.
In another X post published last 19 July, the paper explained that it deleted the initial post because it had "mischaracterized the efforts of Neutra’s parents." The paper followed up hours later with a more thorough explanation.
"A previous post referencing the below story was unacceptable and did not meet our editorial standards, and The Post has deleted it. The reporter of the story was not involved in crafting the tweet. We have taken the appropriate action regarding this incident," The Post wrote on X.
Omer, 22, grew up in Long Island, New York, and was a dual American-Israeli citizen serving in the Israel Defense Forces. He is believed to have been abducted by Hamas on 7 October during its horrific terrorist attack.