Associated Press face backlash for omitting Kenyan casualties in their headline

Kenyans suffered the highest casualties from the Ethiopian Airlines Boeing 737 plane crash on Sunday but one of the respected media outlets in the world deemed it fit not to mention it in their tweet.

On Sunday while reporting about the casualties, The Associated Press (AP) only mentioned Canadians, Chinese, Americans, Italians, Indians, French, British, Egyptians as among those killed in the Ethiopian plane crash.

BREAKING: Authorities say Canadians, Chinese, Americans, Italians, Indians, French, British, Egyptians among those killed in Ethiopian plane crash.

— The Associated Press (@AP) March 10, 2019

That tweet did not go down well with people across the globe, led by Kenyans, who called them out.

According to authorities, there were at least 35 nationalities on board the ill-fated plane that crashed on Sunday morning, with Kenya taking the heaviest hit with 32 of her citizens losing their lives.

The plane came down only moments after take-off from Bole Airport in the Ethiopian capital to Nairobi with 149 passengers and eight crew members on board the flight ET302.

After the AP headline, majority of people called them out for failing to recognise other nationalities on board.

They are yet to delete the tweet or offer any apology for the error of ommission. Here are some of the reactions.

<blockquote class=”twitter-tweet” data-conversation=”none” data-lang=”en”><p lang=”en” dir=”ltr”><a href=”https://twitter.com/AP?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw“>@AP</a> … and more than 60 Africans, most from Kenya. Let’s be aware of our Western conscious and unconscious biases when covering Africa please. <a href=”https://twitter.com/hashtag/ET302?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw“>#ET302</a></p>— zain verjee (@Zain_Verjee) <a href=”https://twitter.com/Zain_Verjee/status/1104988302187343872?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw“>March 11, 2019</a></blockquote>

<blockquote class=”twitter-tweet” data-conversation=”none” data-lang=”en”><p lang=”en” dir=”ltr”>pure garbage type of reporting, its not breaking news it is just reminding people of colour they matter not!</p>— T of Man (@GMTiman) <a href=”https://twitter.com/GMTiman/status/1104780918470987776?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw“>March 10, 2019</a></blockquote>

<blockquote class=”twitter-tweet” data-conversation=”none” data-lang=”en”><p lang=”en” dir=”ltr”>You just keep creating these gratuitous moral quandaries. Weren't there more Kenyans on the plane than any other nationality? Even in death you are going to introduce a hierarchy of value? Or it's just an oversight or we should take for granted there were Africans on the flight?</p>— W. Gyude Moore (@gyude_moore) <a href=”https://twitter.com/gyude_moore/status/1104753789783982080?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw“>March 10, 2019</a></blockquote>

<blockquote class=”twitter-tweet” data-conversation=”none” data-lang=”en”><p lang=”en” dir=”ltr”>32 Kenyans died in that crash but they don't merit a mention. Perhaps we should ask 'how many needed to die before you consider them human enough to be mentioned?'</p>— Yinka Ogunnubi (@yinkanubi) <a href=”https://twitter.com/yinkanubi/status/1104842789781680130?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw“>March 10, 2019</a></blockquote>

<blockquote class=”twitter-tweet” data-conversation=”none” data-lang=”en”><p lang=”en” dir=”ltr”>Kenyans …? Why are Kenyans missing from this list n it's the biggest number?</p>— Otieno M. O. (@olotieno) <a href=”https://twitter.com/olotieno/status/1104727203533803520?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw“>March 10, 2019</a></blockquote>

<blockquote class=”twitter-tweet” data-conversation=”none” data-lang=”en”><p lang=”en” dir=”ltr”>By the way 32 Kenyans died too but you conveniently omitted them.</p>— Antwa (@AntonyChagonda) <a href=”https://twitter.com/AntonyChagonda/status/1104825516434096130?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw“>March 10, 2019</a></blockquote>

<blockquote class=”twitter-tweet” data-conversation=”none” data-lang=”en”><p lang=”en” dir=”ltr”>Mention every nationality or none at all. We understand where majority of your consumers are but still, have a little empathy.</p>— Gitonga (@geetongaK) <a href=”https://twitter.com/geetongaK/status/1104770557306908672?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw“>March 10, 2019</a></blockquote>

<blockquote class=”twitter-tweet” data-conversation=”none” data-lang=”en”><p lang=”en” dir=”ltr”>Wow the level of ignorance in this comment is mind blowing but it's even worse when u describe urself as an "educational expert.For your info the majority on board were our Kenyan brothers & sisters. And please yes don't fly Ethiopian cuz no one should suffer sitting next to you!</p>— Edna Alemayehu (@ednaalemayehu) <a href=”https://twitter.com/ednaalemayehu/status/1104758713657761792?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw“>March 10, 2019</a></blockquote>

<blockquote class=”twitter-tweet” data-conversation=”none” data-lang=”en”><p lang=”en” dir=”ltr”>Seriously <a href=”https://twitter.com/AP?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw“>@AP</a>? What about, ya know, the majority of passengers (32!) from Kenya? This is <a href=”https://twitter.com/hashtag/unacceptable?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw“>#unacceptable</a> <a href=”https://twitter.com/hashtag/truecolors?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw“>#truecolors</a> <a href=”https://twitter.com/hashtag/racismatitsfinest?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw“>#racismatitsfinest</a> #</p>— StephanieSibert (@RosebudMidwife) <a href=”https://twitter.com/RosebudMidwife/status/1104961493102022656?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw“>March 11, 2019</a></blockquote>

<blockquote class=”twitter-tweet” data-conversation=”none” data-lang=”en”><p lang=”en” dir=”ltr”>What a disgraceful tweet. How this meets AP standards I will never know. Shame.</p>— Christiana Mbakwe-Medina (@Christiana1987) <a href=”https://twitter.com/Christiana1987/status/1104809818253131777?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw“>March 10, 2019</a></blockquote>