Digitally Altered Headline Shared as NYT Article
The Claim
The New York Times published an opinion piece that said teachers should tolerate bullying of unvaccinated children in order to encourage parents to vaccinate their children.
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Emerging story
A screenshot of an opinion piece published by The New York Times is being widely circulated on social media. The headline reads, "Teachers Should Tolerate Bullying Towards Unvaccinated Children," with the subtext "As heartless as it may sound, it may be the only way to encourage parents to make the right choice." The headline disappointed users.
Misbar’s Analysis
Misbar conducted an investigation into the claim and discovered it to be false. The New York Times's (NYT) website and all social media platforms were thoroughly searched, but the article was not found.
As can be seen below, a comparison was made between the image used in the claim and a screenshot taken from an original NYT opinion piece.
The word opinion is written in capital letters and in red in the claimed image, but it is written in black and only the first letter is capitalized. Furthermore, neither the author's name nor the date of the article's publication are mentioned.
Based on the findings, the Misbar team concludes that the claim is false because the image was digitally altered and no such article was published in the New York Times.
