Washington Post Catches Flak for Changing Baghdadi Headline, Calling ISIS Leader ‘Austere Religious Scholar’

The Washington Post changed the headline of its obituary of ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi on Sunday after facing backlash for calling him an “austere religious scholar.” Vice President of Communications at Washington Post Kristine Coratti Kelly said in a tweet that “the headline should never have read that way and we changed it quickly.” The first version of the article described Baghdadi as the “Islamic State’s terrorist-in-chief,” before it was changed to “austere religious scholar.” It’s unclear why the newspaper initially changed the headline, but it was changed for a third time to its current headline: “Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, extremist leader of Islamic State, dies at 48.” President Trump confirmed Sunday that U.S. forces killed Baghdadi during a raid in northern Syria the day before.