The New York Times downplayed the arrest of an AWOL Muslim soldier charged in connection with a plot to attack Fort Hood soldiers. The newspaper all but ignored the role Pfc. Naser Jason Abdo’s religious faith may have played in the alleged plot.
Abdo was arrested in Killeen, Texas, near Fort Hood. He was found with weapons, explosive, and jihadist materials. Sources said he was attempting to purchase more weapons at the same gun store where Maj. Nidal Hasan purchased weapons allegedly used to gun down 13 people and would 30 others in a 2009 terrorist attack at the military base.
But the New York Times downplayed Abdo and Hasan’s Muslim faith – and ultimately the entire story.
The foiled plot appeared on page A-11 of the newspaper’s print edition. The word “Muslim” was mentioned once – in paragraph nine of the 13-paragraph story. The newspaper’s top national story was a feature piece about a boy who is following his dream to be a circus clown. That story had 28 paragraphs.
The online edition of The New York Times also downplayed the significance of the story. It was not even featured on the front page. Instead, it was listed as the third national news story – behind a story about the child-circus clown.
Read the entire story here.
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