New York Times coverage of deadly Istanbul blast sparks anger on Twitter

By Servet Gunerigok

WASHINGTON (AA) - A New York Times report about Sunday’s deadly blast on Istanbul’s best-known commercial street sparked anger on Twitter after focusing on the city’s tourist area instead of what the social media site’s users are saying in sympathy with the people of Türkiye.

“Of the tens of millions of tourists from around the world who visit Turkey each year, many spend time in the area where Sunday’s bombing took place,” the newspaper said in a tweet, referring to Istiklal Street, the scene of the bombing.

One user, Marcos Moschovidis, called the coverage “cold reporting.”

“Focusing on tourism (and thereby implicitly saying the whole country is not safe) instead of on the innocent dead and injured is truly horrific and cold reporting.

“Also, I can’t recall that when there’s shootings in the US in popular areas, tourism is mentioned in headlines,” said Moschovidis.

Another user compared the blast to the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks in New York.

“Imagine a newspaper in Turkey talking about the impact of the act of terrorism on the tourism industry in America when the twin towers were hit...You guys are so despicable!” the user commented.

Nazgul Kenzhetay, a journalist, rebuked the reporting, saying it was “discrimination.”

“What a discrimination! It's not a tourism problem, It's a human crisis. There people died, no matter their citizenship is. It's important to be human before being a journalist,” she said.

A Turkish celebrity, Berna Lacin, was also among those who raised criticism, calling the tweet “racist.”

“Shame on you! Delete this racist post now NYT!” she wrote on Twitter.

The explosion occurred around 4.20 p.m. local time (1320GMT), killing at least six people, including a toddler, and injuring more than 80 others.

Turkish authorities said the blast is considered a terrorist act and a female attacker detonated the bomb.

No group has claimed responsibility for the attack.