Former Washington Post columnist Karen Attiah, 39, has publicly stated that she was dismissed from the newspaper after 11 years, attributing her termination to social media posts concerning gun control and race. The posts were made following the killing of far-right commentator Charlie Kirk.
Attiah detailed in a Substack post that she believes she was fired for “speaking out against political violence, racial double standards, and America’s apathy toward guns,” asserting that the decision was made without prior conversation. She also noted that she was the “last remaining Black full-time opinion columnist” at the publication and expressed concern that the newspaper, serving a diverse region, no longer reflects its community.
The Washington Post’s opinion section operates with an editorial mandate to specifically support and defend “personal liberties and free markets.” When contacted, a spokesperson for the newspaper declined to comment on personnel matters, instead pointing to the organization’s established policies and standards, including guidelines for social media use. Attiah’s social media content included observations on what she described as the U.S.’s acceptance of gun violence, and she stated her direct reference to Kirk was limited to quoting his own words. Comments made by the columnist were met with accusations from some of implicitly justifying violence by suggesting that “hateful words” can lead to “hateful actions.”
Source: www.theguardian.com