After Mother of Terrorist Says Son “Hero” and “Martyr,” NY Times Mistranslates to Hide Her Words (UPDATED)
UPDATE: Following communication with CAMERA staff, the New York Times has corrected its subtitles. They now accurately show the woman using the word “hero” to describe terrorists like her son, and no longer claim she called the killing a “crime.”
A New York Times video segment entitled “Reactions to West Bank Stabbing” includes an interview with the mother of a Palestinian terrorist who murdered a 13-year-old girl today. But a series of mistranslations downplayed the mother’s words, which showed her proud support for her son’s deed.
A twitter user named Akiva Cohen flagged one error, noting that although the audio clearly captured the mother calling her son a shahid, or “martyr,” the subtitle showed her saying only “son.”
Mom of terrorist who murdered 13yr old girl calls him "martyr". @nytimes edits 2 "my son". @GileadIni @elderofziyon pic.twitter.com/Ag0hN2Rsag
— Akiva Cohen (@AkivaMCohen) June 30, 2016
The mistranslation was quickly corrected.
But other mistranslations, which also soften the mother’s extreme rhetoric, remain. Where the mother says that of course anyone who would commit such an act is a “hero,” the subtitle shows her saying the word “bold” instead of hero.
Likewise, the subtitle translates her referring to the murder as a “crime,” though she does not actually use that word.
CAMERA has called on the newspaper to correct the remaining mistranslations. It should also figure out who mistranslated the segment in this way, what went wrong, and how to ensure that future translations — even of inflammatory statements by Palestinians — are rendered accurately.
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