Don’t call it a “crisis.”
Politico is the latest news outlet to order its staff not to use the word “crisis” when reporting on the massive influx of illegal immigrants at the southern border, according to an internal memo obtained by the Washington Examiner. The Beltway publication’s edict, which an official characterized as underscoring earlier guidance from the Associated Press, comes despite President Joe Biden’s own use of the term.
“Avoid referring to the present situation as a crisis, although we may quote others using that language while providing context. While the sharp increase in the arrival of unaccompanied minors is a problem for border officials, a political challenge for the Biden administration and a dire situation for many migrants who make the journey, it does not fit the dictionary definition of a crisis,” the memo from deputy production director Maya Parthasarathy reads. “If using the word ‘crisis,’ we need to ask of what and to whom.”
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Dictionary.com defines a crisis as “a condition of instability or danger, as in social, economic, political, or international affairs, leading to a decisive change.” The Cambridge English Dictionary describes a crisis as “a time of great disagreement, confusion or suffering.”
The White House has denied the word applies, but Biden and spokeswoman Jen Psaki have both used the word in unguarded moments, prompting walk-back efforts.
“This wasn’t a company-wide memo — it was an email to relevant employees sharing AP style guidance — the industry standard — which you can find here,” a spokesperson for Politico told the Washington Examiner.
The memo referenced a number of style books aside from the Associated Press, including the Diversity Style Guide and the National Association for Hispanic Journalists Cultural Competence Handbook. The memo’s guidance did not track the Associated Press’s words verbatim.
Border patrol officials logged over 14,000 unaccompanied minors in custody last month. The Department of Homeland Security estimates that roughly 117,000 migrant children will enter the country by the end of the year. For context, 80,000 unaccompanied minors entered through the southern border in all of 2019, when the media seemed to have no problem labeling the surge as a crisis.
After immense pressure from both Republicans and Democrats, Biden himself referred to the situation on the border as a “crisis” earlier this month.
“We’re going to increase the number. The problem was that the refugee part was working on the crisis that ended up on the border with young people,” he said following a round of golf. “We couldn’t do two things at once, but now, we are going to increase the number.”
Psaki moved swiftly to soften her boss’s words.
“The president does not feel children coming to our border, seeking refuge from violence, economic hardships, and other dire circumstances, is a crisis,” she said when asked about his comments. “He does feel that the crisis in Central America, the direct circumstances that people are fleeing from, that that is a situation we need to spend our time, our effort on, and we need to address it if we are going to prevent more of an influx of migrants from coming in years to come.”
In February alone, 100,000 migrants crossed into the country. The high number of migrants has overwhelmed border facilities, causing extraordinarily cramped conditions and concerns about potential COVID-19 superspreader events.
Democratic Sen. Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona called on the White House to resolve the “crisis,” asking the Biden administration to give funds to Arizona for deploying the National Guard on the southern border.
Politico’s editorial decision flies in the face of its coverage on a wide array of other topics.
In October of last year, the outlet reported on the “crisis” of “empty retail space.” Politico declared a “police brutality crisis” last June following the death of George Floyd.
Politico regularly uses “climate crisis” in its stories, and the now-forbidden “border crisis” has even earned its own tag, presumably to generate traffic from Google.
Under President Barack Obama, the country faced a “judicial vacancy crisis,” according to Politico.
A Politico editor acknowledged “an immigration crisis” in March but cautioned readers that it’s “not the one you think.”
Going forward, the memo explains, Politico staff should avoid using terms “which could portray migrants as a negative, harmful influence.”
“Avoid emotive words like onslaught, tidal wave, flood, inundation, surge, invasion, army, march, sneak, and stealth.”
The new language guidance signals a continued ideological shift for the publication, which once prided itself on catering to readers on both sides of the political aisle.
Earlier this year, Politico’s staff revolted after conservative commentator Ben Shapiro guest-wrote a company newsletter.
Over 100 of its staff signed a letter to Politico’s publisher alleging that Shapiro’s byline demoralized a significant portion of the newsroom. The signatories also called for greater transparency in the editorial process.
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“We’re not going to back away from having published something because some people think it was a mistake to do so,” Politico Editor-in-Chief Matthew Kaminski said at the time.
