“Utterly Indefensible!” Newspaper In Strife For Ad Saying Islam Was About To Set Off A Nuclear Bomb

“Utterly Indefensible!” Newspaper In Strife For Ad Saying Islam Was About To Set Off A Nuclear Bomb
B&T Magazine
By B&T Magazine



Editors at a local newspaper in Nashville, Tennessee are in damage control after an ad appeared in its pages that claimed, among other things, Islam was going to detonate a nuclear device in the city in the coming month.

The ad was posted in The Tennessean over the weekend by a religious group called The Ministry of Future for America who has apparent allegiances to Donald Trump and, among other things, claimed that “Islam is going to detonate a nuclear device in Nashville, Tennessee,” basing its evidence on a “Bible prophecy”.

Unfortuantely, the ad was never vetted by editors or bosses at the newspaper publisher.

It appeared as a full-page ad and featured images of Trump – who it labelled the “final President of the USA” – and Pope Francis II.

It claimed Islam would bring about a future World War III, saying the religion’s “role is to bring all men on planet earth [sic] together to combat them. Islam is the issue that pushes the world into a one-world government as the world attempts to address the escalating warfare brought by the Islamic religion.”

Kevin Gentzel, the chief revenue officer at Gannett, which owns The Tennessean, said the publisher was launching an investigation to determine how the ad ever made it into print.

In a tweet, Gentzel said: “We strongly condemn the message and apologise to our readers.”

The Tennessean’s editor, Michael Anastasi, added: “The ad is horrific and is utterly indefensible in all circumstances. It is wrong, period, and should have never been published.

“It has hurt members of our community and our own employees and that saddens me beyond belief. It is inconsistent with everything The Tennessean as an institution stands and has stood for,” Anastasi said.

While others blamed job cuts at the publisher that meant advertising in the newspaper was not held to the same accountability as the editorial.

According to media reports, The Tennessean has a long history of reporting on anti-Islamic activities in its pages.

“I’m frustrated I can’t find out more due to furlough,” the reporter, Natalie Ellison, tweeted. She reminded readers that she “and other @Tennessean reporters have consistently identified and written about local anti-Islam efforts.”

 

 




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