The AP’s guidelines telling journalists to decide what’s ‘racist’ are already leading to disaster

Earlier this year, the Associated Press announced a guideline change encouraging news reporters to call out racism. This might sound reasonable enough, but several media outlets just proved it’s the start of a troubling trend in journalism.

“Do not use racially charged or similar terms as euphemisms for racist or racism when the latter terms are truly applicable,” the Associated Press announced in a series of tweets. “If racist is not the appropriate term, give careful thought to how best to describe the situation. Alternatives include racially divisive, racially sensitive, or in some cases, simply racial.”