Conservative pundit Ben Shapiro demanded a correction from The Washington Post on Tuesday after the outlet published an article insinuating that he had spread conspiracy theories about the Notre Dame cathedral fire.
“This, from @chick_in_kiev, in The Washington Post, is the sheerest form of disgusting bulls***. I blamed no one for the Notre Dame fire, since it was an accident by all available evidence, and imputing malicious intent to me is simply gross,” Shapiro tweeted. (RELATED: These Photos Show The Damage Done To Notre Dame Cathedral)
This, from @chick_in_kiev, in The Washington Post, is the sheerest form of disgusting bulls***. I blamed no one for the Notre Dame fire, since it was an accident by all available evidence, and imputing malicious intent to me is simply gross. https://t.co/e5gvQqQc2G pic.twitter.com/T98E2JWJXe
— Ben Shapiro (@benshapiro) April 16, 2019
He followed that up by asking whether WaPo intended to issue a correction.
Hey, @washingtonpost, any interest in fixing this nonsense? I noted that Notre Dame is a monument to Western civilization because it is. That has nothing to do with blaming Muslims, and to suggest it does is simply a lie.
— Ben Shapiro (@benshapiro) April 16, 2019
What Shapiro actually said as the 800-year-old cathedral burned was, “Absolutely heartbreaking. A magnificent monument to Western civilization collapsing.”
Absolutely heartbreaking. A magnificent monument to Western civilization collapsing. https://t.co/UajArjkt2g
— Ben Shapiro (@benshapiro) April 15, 2019
WaPo’s Talia Lavin used that tweet to accuse Shapiro of fomenting the “already-raging” rumors that Muslims had been involved in the Notre Dame fire.
Given the already-raging rumors about potential Muslim involvement, these tweets evoked the specter of a war between Islam and the West that is already part of numerous far-right narratives; it was also a central thread in the manifesto of Brenton Tarrant, the alleged Christchurch, New Zealand, shooter.
Lavin also lumped Shapiro in with a Fox News parody account that published a fake tweet attributed to Democratic Minnesota Rep. Ilhan Omar saying, “They reap what they sow #NotreDame.”
Shapiro rounded out his criticism of Lavin by pointing out what appeared to be her endgame: silencing him.
“Perhaps my favorite of this piece is the ending, wherein Lavin calls for me to be silenced. So her lie was the precursor to a call for censorship. Of course,” Shapiro said.
Perhaps my favorite of this piece is the ending, wherein Lavin calls for me to be silenced. So her lie was the precursor to a call for censorship. Of course. pic.twitter.com/gIAXDD9cym
— Ben Shapiro (@benshapiro) April 16, 2019
