April Powers, Ex-SCBWI Diversity Chief, Sent Death Threats After Sharing Antisemitism Post

[Behind the Aegis]

A former diversity chief at the world's leading children's book writers group has hit out at those who sent a flurry of death threats to her and her former colleagues for treating online harassment like "a blood sport."

April Powers, who was previously Chief Equity and Inclusion Officer at the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI), bravely spoke to Newsweek about the torrent of death threats and antisemitic messages she had been subjected to for weeks.

Powers left the SCBWI after she shared a Twitter post last month that condemned the rise in antisemitic attacks that had occurred earlier this year, which triggered an avalanche of abuse online.

The inclusion officer, who is Black and Jewish, soon came under sustained attacks after a Palestinian writer called on her to produce a statement on Islamophobia as well.

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She had the audacity to call out anti-Semitism, and this was the result.

[thucythucy]

1. Quite the misleading headline:

at first glance it appeared to me that Ms. Powers was the one who had sent the death threats after sharing a post.

But in fact Ms. Powers received the threats.

A less ambiguous headline would have been, "April Powers, Ex-SCBI Diversity Chief, receives death threats after sharing a post condemning antisemitism."

The article itself is yet more evidence about the crappy world in which we live.

[lagomorph777]

2. Yes; also it looked like maybe she maliciously retweeted some anti-semitic crap.

Very badly written headline in multiple ways.

Not the OP's fault, of course.

[Behind the Aegis]

3. Not misleading.

It depends on how it is read. While your title is more clear, IMO, I didn't write the title. Also, it wasn't my biggest concern given what was actually in the article.

[thucythucy]

4. I'm not criticizing you but rather

whoever it was wrote the headline.

That its interpretation depends on "how it is read" is precisely the problem.

I understand though that it isn't your job to clean up other people's work. Whoever wrote the headline is actually paid to produce clear, succinct descriptions of the article to follow. Reposting their work is no reflection on you. And yes, the article itself is informative, and disturbing.

Best wishes.