Axios ripped after deleting tweet accusing border agents of 'whipping at' Haitian migrants
'Literally no evidence of whipping. Border Patrol is owed an apology,' wrote one critic
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Critics ripped Axios on Sunday after the outlet deleted a tweet referring to Border Patrol agents as "whipping at" Haitian migrants attempting to cross from Mexico into the U.S. at the Southern border.
"We deleted a previous tweet that referred to Border Patrol agents as whipping at Haitian migrants. The story has been updated to include comments from some journalists on the border who did not see whipping occur," Axios tweeted, referring to a weekend story it published about Republican Texas Gov. Greg Abbott vowing to hire the agents seen on horseback in viral photos that were taken out of context and leading to accusations of abuse against the migrants.
Media fact-checkers were largely silent last week as the false narrative surrounding the photos, consisting of claims the agents were using "whips" to attack the Haitians, continued to be peddled by many of their own outlets, as well as a number of Democratic lawmakers. The photographer who took the pictures told a Texas outlet last week that he never saw agents using reins as whips.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Critics took to social media to slam Axios, with one pointing out that "journalism" was supposed to mean finding out what actually happened first and then reporting on it, while another accused President Joe Biden and Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas of using the "lie" as an excuse to further open the border to illegal immigration.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Another critic suggest the "lie" was "too good" for the liberal media to take the time to fact check, while another referred to Biden's Friday statement that the agents who perpetrated the fake incident would "pay."
FORMER BORDER PATROL HORSE COORDINATOR DISPELS WHIPPING ACCUSATIONS: ‘A BUNCH OF BS’
Other critics called Axios' actions' with the original tweet "unacceptable," while another suggested the outlet was still trying to "hedge" between the truth and what their audience wanted to hear.
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Amid the backlash over the false "whipping" claims, the Biden administration also faced intense scrutiny for releasing as many as 12,000 of the Haitian migrants into the U.S. As of Sunday afternoon, 5,000 of the migrants were still being processed, meaning more could potentially be released.
Fox News' Joseph A. Wulfsohn contributed to this report.