You know, I’m starting to see a pattern here.
In this unbylined article about the Palestinian Prime Minister’s reaction to Israel’s raid on Hamas in the West Bank, you get this headline:
Palestinian premier criticizes Israeli raids
It’s not a bad headline at all. It’s descriptive, gets the point across quickly, and uses the right words. But then we get the update, which now carries a byline:
Palestinian PM derides Israeli raids in West Bank
So what’s the difference between “criticize” and “deride”?
A lot. A whole lot.
1 : to consider the merits and demerits of and judge accordingly : evaluate
2 : to find fault with : point out the faults of
1 : to laugh at contemptuously
2 : to subject to usually bitter or contemptuous ridicule
“Derides” isn’t nearly the correct word for this headline. It is so far off that it reeks of anti-Israel media bias. Not that I’m very surprised. Why is it that the spin always seems to go more negative when our Arab and Muslim pals have the rewrite duties?
And why is it that the AP editors in charge of okaying these headlines don’t think the word “derides” is the wrong word for this headline?
Sorry. Rhetorical question. I couldn’t help but deride the AP over this.