Social media users angrily criticized a Tennessee newspaper ad that claims "Islam" will "detonate a nuclear device" in the city of Nashville. Apologies by the newspaper sparked another wave of anger from netizens, who refused to believe that the occurrence was by chance.
The full page ad, according to The Tennessean newspaper, "should have never been published". The ad's publishing was referred to by the newspaper's editor, Michael A. Anastasi, "a breakdown in the normal processes" in a published apology.
The outlet announced that an investigation into how a full page ad - considered by many netizens to be an example of hate speech - was published is ongoing, according to the editorial staff.
Netizens, however, were skeptical of the apology, noting that many people saw the ad prior to its publication.
A lot of users pondered how Islam, an entire religion, could physically detonate anything.
That first part kills me ... "Islam will detonate bombs." Islam. Not the people of the religion. Islam. 🤦♀️🤦♀️🤦♀️
Users slammed the newspaper for failing to detect the source of the mistake in less than an hour.
Others offered methods to rectify the mistake.