Brendan Nyhan

NYT caption smears war opponents

Reader Joel Wiles flags a caption in the New York Times suggesting that opponents of the war in Iraq do not support the troops.

The article in question describes pro- and anti-war demonstrators who stand on opposite corners of an intersection in Delaware:

On one side of the street, Jeff Broderick stands alone while he holds a sign. “Their only plan is to cut and run again. It never ever works,” the sign says.

On the other side, Patricia Kirby Gibler stands shoulder to shoulder with dozens of others, staring toward Mr. Broderick and silently holding small cardboard posters with black numbers. One poster states, “3,415 American Dead.” Another reads, “70,023 Iraqi Dead.”

However, the caption of the picture that accompanies the article states that Broderick was “standing alone last week in support of United States troops” and suggests that the “demonstrators for peace” do not support the troops:

Jeffery Broderick, foreground, standing alone last week in support of United States troops as demonstrators for peace occupy an opposite corner.

As Eric Alterman said, what liberal media?