Karen Attiah Fired from Washington Post

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Charlie Kirk was a passoniate advocate for free speech for all white people, and no one who says differently should be tolerated in any job, especially one where they speak.

What kind of weird doublespeak is this?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:When a journalist misquotes someone so blatantly and refuses to own up to her mistake (if it was a mistake and not intentional) she does not deserve the job as journalist.

https://www.politico.com/news/2025/09/15/washington-post-karen-attiah-kirk-00564027


Some of Attiah’s social media posts condemned political violence but also highlighted Kirk’s divisive comments on Black women. In her only post directly mentioning Kirk, she quoted the Turning Point USA founder’s comments that Black women lack “brain processing power.”

“I made clear that not performing over-the-top grief for white men who espouse violence was not the same as endorsing violence against them,” Attiah said.

Here is a recording from Kirk's 2023 statements:

So where is the misquote?

Was he speaking about those specific women or Black women in general?

Wow. I had never heard him speak on this issue before but now I understand why people say he was a racist, hateful person.

+1

[Anonymous]

Attiah messed up so she’s been de-platformed. Surely any journalist should have known they had to be very careful not to take any liberties with Kirk’s past statements. She misquoted him and now she’s out of a job.

[Anonymous]

Attiah's reference to Kirk's statement is a paraphrase that omits key context, effectively presenting it as a direct claim he made about Black women's intelligence, when Kirk was instead critiquing what he saw as hypocritical standards in political rhetoric.

The full quote comes from a July 13, 2023, episode of The Charlie Kirk Show, where Kirk was discussing Democratic criticisms of white judicial nominees (like those under Trump) as "affirmative action" selections lacking merit. He argued this was acceptable when aimed at whites but would be deemed racist if reversed. Specifically, he said: "If we would have said that Joy Reid and Michelle Obama and Sheila Jackson Lee and Ketanji Brown Jackson were affirmative action picks, we would be called every name in the book... You do not have the brain processing power to otherwise be taken really seriously. You have to go steal a white person's brain." Here, the "brain processing power" line is Kirk mocking or illustrating the implication of the "affirmative action" label when applied to Black women, not a standalone assertion of his own view on their intelligence. He was highlighting what he viewed as a double standard, not endorsing the racist trope outright.

Attiah's Bluesky post summarized it as Kirk claiming "Black women such as Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson and former Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee did not have the 'brain processing power to otherwise be taken really seriously.'" This strips away the hypothetical framing, making it sound like a direct quote from Kirk.

In her Substack response after the firing, Attiah acknowledged this as "a misquote, one that a journalist should have fact-checked more rigorously," but defended it as capturing the "essence" of his rhetoric on racial hierarchies. Critics called it a deliberate distortion to inflame racial tensions post-assassination.

[Anonymous]

I just finally cancelled my subscription. Been a reader for 30 years, now no more. I do feel bad for the hard working, smart reporters there but this was the last straw.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Attiah's reference to Kirk's statement is a paraphrase that omits key context, effectively presenting it as a direct claim he made about Black women's intelligence, when Kirk was instead critiquing what he saw as hypocritical standards in political rhetoric.

The full quote comes from a July 13, 2023, episode of The Charlie Kirk Show, where Kirk was discussing Democratic criticisms of white judicial nominees (like those under Trump) as "affirmative action" selections lacking merit. He argued this was acceptable when aimed at whites but would be deemed racist if reversed. Specifically, he said: "If we would have said that Joy Reid and Michelle Obama and Sheila Jackson Lee and Ketanji Brown Jackson were affirmative action picks, we would be called every name in the book... You do not have the brain processing power to otherwise be taken really seriously. You have to go steal a white person's brain." Here, the "brain processing power" line is Kirk mocking or illustrating the implication of the "affirmative action" label when applied to Black women, not a standalone assertion of his own view on their intelligence. He was highlighting what he viewed as a double standard, not endorsing the racist trope outright.

Attiah's Bluesky post summarized it as Kirk claiming "Black women such as Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson and former Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee did not have the 'brain processing power to otherwise be taken really seriously.'" This strips away the hypothetical framing, making it sound like a direct quote from Kirk.

In her Substack response after the firing, Attiah acknowledged this as "a misquote, one that a journalist should have fact-checked more rigorously," but defended it as capturing the "essence" of his rhetoric on racial hierarchies. Critics called it a deliberate distortion to inflame racial tensions post-assassination.

So it was an unintentional misquote? Seems like it was an interpretation that served the outcome she wanted.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Attiah's reference to Kirk's statement is a paraphrase that omits key context, effectively presenting it as a direct claim he made about Black women's intelligence, when Kirk was instead critiquing what he saw as hypocritical standards in political rhetoric.

The full quote comes from a July 13, 2023, episode of The Charlie Kirk Show, where Kirk was discussing Democratic criticisms of white judicial nominees (like those under Trump) as "affirmative action" selections lacking merit. He argued this was acceptable when aimed at whites but would be deemed racist if reversed. Specifically, he said: "If we would have said that Joy Reid and Michelle Obama and Sheila Jackson Lee and Ketanji Brown Jackson were affirmative action picks, we would be called every name in the book... You do not have the brain processing power to otherwise be taken really seriously. You have to go steal a white person's brain." Here, the "brain processing power" line is Kirk mocking or illustrating the implication of the "affirmative action" label when applied to Black women, not a standalone assertion of his own view on their intelligence. He was highlighting what he viewed as a double standard, not endorsing the racist trope outright.

Attiah's Bluesky post summarized it as Kirk claiming "Black women such as Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson and former Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee did not have the 'brain processing power to otherwise be taken really seriously.'" This strips away the hypothetical framing, making it sound like a direct quote from Kirk.

In her Substack response after the firing, Attiah acknowledged this as "a misquote, one that a journalist should have fact-checked more rigorously," but defended it as capturing the "essence" of his rhetoric on racial hierarchies. Critics called it a deliberate distortion to inflame racial tensions post-assassination.

So it was an unintentional misquote? Seems like it was an interpretation that served the outcome she wanted.

No, it's more right wing lying.

People called Trump's White Guy DEI "Affirmative action" *because* Charlie Kirk and his gang were ruthless in calling every Black a Woman an incompetent diversity hire, *even when those people were actually white men*. His "hypothetical" is a actually reality, but he calls it "hypothetical" to pretend it's not.

Sorry, he *called* it hypothetical. He's not calling anything anymore.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Charlie Kirk was a passoniate advocate for free speech for all white people, and no one who says differently should be tolerated in any job, especially one where they speak.

What kind of weird doublespeak is this?

That's MAGA, baby. From street level to the Oval Office.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Attiah's reference to Kirk's statement is a paraphrase that omits key context, effectively presenting it as a direct claim he made about Black women's intelligence, when Kirk was instead critiquing what he saw as hypocritical standards in political rhetoric.

The full quote comes from a July 13, 2023, episode of The Charlie Kirk Show, where Kirk was discussing Democratic criticisms of white judicial nominees (like those under Trump) as "affirmative action" selections lacking merit. He argued this was acceptable when aimed at whites but would be deemed racist if reversed. Specifically, he said: "If we would have said that Joy Reid and Michelle Obama and Sheila Jackson Lee and Ketanji Brown Jackson were affirmative action picks, we would be called every name in the book... You do not have the brain processing power to otherwise be taken really seriously. You have to go steal a white person's brain." Here, the "brain processing power" line is Kirk mocking or illustrating the implication of the "affirmative action" label when applied to Black women, not a standalone assertion of his own view on their intelligence. He was highlighting what he viewed as a double standard, not endorsing the racist trope outright.

Attiah's Bluesky post summarized it as Kirk claiming "Black women such as Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson and former Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee did not have the 'brain processing power to otherwise be taken really seriously.'" This strips away the hypothetical framing, making it sound like a direct quote from Kirk.

In her Substack response after the firing, Attiah acknowledged this as "a misquote, one that a journalist should have fact-checked more rigorously," but defended it as capturing the "essence" of his rhetoric on racial hierarchies. Critics called it a deliberate distortion to inflame racial tensions post-assassination.

So it was an unintentional misquote? Seems like it was an interpretation that served the outcome she wanted.

Np. Watch the clip posted above for yourself. PP is full of it. That ellipsis in PP's quote is doing the work of the Devil.

[Anonymous]

The termination letter cites Attiah's violations of the Post's social media guidelines, her anti-White rhetoric, and a "backdrop of documented performance concerns."

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Attiah's reference to Kirk's statement is a paraphrase that omits key context, effectively presenting it as a direct claim he made about Black women's intelligence, when Kirk was instead critiquing what he saw as hypocritical standards in political rhetoric.

The full quote comes from a July 13, 2023, episode of The Charlie Kirk Show, where Kirk was discussing Democratic criticisms of white judicial nominees (like those under Trump) as "affirmative action" selections lacking merit. He argued this was acceptable when aimed at whites but would be deemed racist if reversed. Specifically, he said: "If we would have said that Joy Reid and Michelle Obama and Sheila Jackson Lee and Ketanji Brown Jackson were affirmative action picks, we would be called every name in the book... You do not have the brain processing power to otherwise be taken really seriously. You have to go steal a white person's brain." Here, the "brain processing power" line is Kirk mocking or illustrating the implication of the "affirmative action" label when applied to Black women, not a standalone assertion of his own view on their intelligence. He was highlighting what he viewed as a double standard, not endorsing the racist trope outright.

Attiah's Bluesky post summarized it as Kirk claiming "Black women such as Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson and former Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee did not have the 'brain processing power to otherwise be taken really seriously.'" This strips away the hypothetical framing, making it sound like a direct quote from Kirk.

In her Substack response after the firing, Attiah acknowledged this as "a misquote, one that a journalist should have fact-checked more rigorously," but defended it as capturing the "essence" of his rhetoric on racial hierarchies. Critics called it a deliberate distortion to inflame racial tensions post-assassination.

Democrats have a big problem with misquoting and then fomenting outrage based on those misquotes. We see it here on DCUM all the time. Another word for that is lying.

[Anonymous]

How ironic that her name is Karen.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Are right-wingers going to start reading the Post after Bezos drives all the sane people away? Who does Bezos think his propaganda is going to influence?

Maybe just normal people will start reading it again.

“Normal people” haven’t read the WaPo in the last 25 years. Or the NYT. Or the WSJ. Etc. I’m 51 and grew up among small town Southern conservatives and even my liberal yankee wealthy white collar professional family, who were not “normal people,” didn’t read these, as far back as the 80s. Most of the town didn’t go to college and worked in the local manufacturing, and the DEFINATELY did’t read these. Come on, man.

This is like saying Trump is in charge of the Kennedy Center and now “normal people” will return. The KC was always mostly NOVA, DC and MoCo. Ask the KC subscriptions department how that’s going for them. Apparently, “normal people” from flyover states aren’t making the pilgrimage to attend the Trump Center. Last I read, the Stuttgart Ballet was looking at cancelling because shows were booked at 8%-14% capacity. I dropped our dance subscription. And before this, these shows were filled (at least on Sunday, which is when our subscription was).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Charlie Kirk was a passoniate advocate for free speech for all white people, and no one who says differently should be tolerated in any job, especially one where they speak.

He put college faculty on a “watch list” that resulted in at least one person I know personally having to flee her home because she was being threatened with violence by his followers over an idea discussed in her class.

He was a “passionate advocate” for his ability to do that.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Charlie Kirk was a passoniate advocate for free speech for all white people, and no one who says differently should be tolerated in any job, especially one where they speak.

What kind of weird doublespeak is this?

It’s sarcasm