The Asian-American community is expressing outrage after an early report falsely claimed that the shooter in an attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump over the weekend was a “Chinese man.”
The New York Post initially stated the shooter was “identified as a Chinese man” but later updated their report, identifying the gunman as “a white male.”
Asian American groups have since called out the tabloid newspaper for its blunder. “In this current era of heightened anti-Asian hate, Chinese-Americans and the Asian-American community are already looking over their shoulders on a daily basis,” said Gary Locke, a former US ambassador to China, in a letter released by the Committee of 100, a Chinese-American civic group he chairs.
“By irresponsibly reporting false information – that the alleged gunman was Chinese – your reporters have caused the Chinese-American community additional harm,”
Nonprofit anti-hate group, Stop AAPI Hate called for an apology from the publication. “We demand @nypost issue a formal retraction & apology for falsely reporting that the shooter who injured Donald Trump & killed a rally attendee yesterday was a Chinese man. This reckless reporting, especially in today’s inflamed political climate, is dangerous to our communities,” the group stated.
In a follow-up tweet, the group revealed that the New York Post has still not addressed the issue. “It’s been two days since @nypost misidentified Trump’s shooter as a Chinese man, and they still haven’t answered our demand for a formal retraction,” Stop AAPI Hate added. “This isn’t a harmless mistake, it’s reckless misreporting that is actively fueling dangerous misinformation and anti-Asian racism.”
New York State assembly member Grace Lee also weighed in, calling for an apology. “Reckless, false reporting like this perpetuates hate and violence against the Asian community,” she said. “The New York Post must apologise for this error and do better to ensure accurate reporting.” The New York Post did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Aryani Ong, an Asian-American civil rights lawyer and activist, criticized the report, saying it suggested “a bias so potent that it twists fiction into hard ‘news’.” Ong added, “Asian-Americans are paying the price for the lack of care by parties who peddle fear – not fact-based and balanced statements – using broad-reaching platforms.”
“The real issue for us is our own public safety,” said Aryani Ong, an Asian-American civil rights lawyer and activist. “After Trump’s Covid-related statements, studies show a correlation in uptick of hate directed at Asian-Americans. Even if there were ‘x’ number of people who saw it while the post was up for 1 hour 20 minutes, [there] are still too many people who could have gone out and directed fatal anger at Asian-Americans on the street.”
Cindy Tsai, Interim President, Committee of 100, also stated, “In this 24/7 news cycle we live in, accuracy matters just as much as the words being used. By incorrectly reporting a criminal suspect by a specific race or ethnicity – without the facts to back it up – that creates untold harm to that entire community. In this case with the inaccurate reporting from New York Post, the Chinese American community has once again been victimized.”
Committee of 100 have additionally sent a letter directly to the New York Post’s Editor in Chief, Keith Poole, demanding an apology.
A recent AAPI survey revealed that 90% of Asian Americans plan to vote in November, with 46% supporting Biden and 31% supporting Trump.
“Historically the [mindset of the] Chinese-American community and Asian-American community has been, ‘put your heads down, don’t cause any trouble’,” said Lily Trieu of Asian Texans for Justice. “At this very moment, that’s what has shifted.”
Read more: “Swap Joe Out”: Andrew Yang Calls For Biden to Step Down Following Presidential Debate Gaffe
However, the likes of Asian American businessman-turned-politician, Andrew Yang, are calling for Joe Biden to step down following a series of gaffes in recent public appearances.
“Look I debated Joe 7 times in 2020. He’s a different guy in 2024,” Yang tweeted. “Guys, the Dems should nominate someone else – before it’s too late,” adding the hashtag #swapJoeout.
