'Democracy Dies in Darkness': Twittersphere Mocks Washington Post's New Motto

Americans must certainly be worried, to deserve this level of rhetorical aggression. What would be done to salvage a dying American democracy without Jeff Bezos’ personal media outlet spearheading the ‘fake news’ brigade, and then leading the very effort they claimed to shed light on with a false story stating that Russia hacked an electric grid in Vermont without so much as making a single call to the Vermont utilities commissioner by way of fact-checking? 

Have no fear, America, the Washington Post "thought it would be a good, concise value statement that conveys who we are to the millions of readers who have come to us for the first time over the last year," spokeswoman Kris Coratti told CNN Money. The news outlet plans to start with the slogan on Snapchat, before rolling it out on other platforms "in the coming weeks," Coratti added. 

The twittersphere was mixed between praise and mockery of the melodrama. But among fellow media organizations, it was mostly mockery. John Podhoretz, of the New York Post, quipped, “I should go have lunch but I can’t stop thinking of new Washington Post mottos.” Mollie Hemingway, senior editor at The Federalist, tweeted an alternative slogan: “Like Breitbart, but for the other side.” Hemingway tweeted this approximately one hour after declaring, “Good news everyone,” with a fake Post slogan that read, “Finally Back After 8 Year Break.”

People within the media and outside the media generally found plenty of material for a good laugh. Here is a look at some of the funnier tweets that were posted: