New York Times stokes backlash for tweet about Mexico slayings

People on social media blasted the New York Times for a Twitter headline that seemingly minimized the deaths of nine members of an American family in Mexico and implied their religion was to blame.

The headline on Twitter read, “Brutal Killings Spotlight Small Religious Sect in Mexico,” with a description that said, “The brutal killing of 9 members of an American family in northern Mexico on Monday highlights the long history of religious fundamentalist settlers in the region. Our religion reporter, Elizabeth Dias, details their history back to the early 20th century.”

The article, penned by a religion reporter, has the headline, “Murder in Mexico: Mormon Families Have a Long History There,” and goes in-depth about a fundamentalist offshoot of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and how they settled in the region decades ago after splintering off from the Mormons.

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