NPR, CBS, AP slamming Shinzo Abe is latest example of outlets bashing dead conservatives

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Gen. Keane: Shinzo Abe was wary of threats to Japan from China, North Korea

Fox News senior strategic analyst Gen. Jack Keane (Ret.) on the relationship the U.S. had with Shinzo Abe and his time as Japan’s prime minister

On occasion, the media has knocked conservative figures following their deaths in tweets and articles announcing news of their passing. 

Early Friday morning, former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe died in the hospital after being shot during a campaign speech. NPR tweeted out news of his death, labeling him a "divisive arch-conservative" and one of Japan’s "most powerful and influence figures." 

In the attached piece, NPR went on to say that Abe’s "ultra-nationalism" riled Koreans and the Chinese, and noted that he failed to resolve issues of Japanese citizens abducted by North Korea. NPR also knocked the former prime minister for his revision of the country’s war-renouncing Constitution. The left-wing non-profit was swiftly slammed by social media users. 

CBS Mornings offered a similarly critical assessment of Abe’s life on the day of his passing, calling him a "right-wing nationalist" and a "polarizing figure" whose political decisions were "controversial."

Former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe makes a speech before he was shot from behind by a man in Nara, western Japan on July 8, 2022, in this photo taken by The Asahi Shimbun.  (The Asahi Shimbun/via REUTERS)

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The Associated Press, which in the past was known for neutral, swift-breaking news, released an article with a headline that declared Abe left a "divided legacy."

AP previously came under fire when social media users compared headlines of the site breaking news of Hugo Chavez and Fidel Castro’s deaths. Chavez, a socialist dictator, was labeled a "fiery Venezuelan leader" by the AP. Meanwhile, the media site announced the death of communist dictator Fidel Castro with this headline: "Fidel Castro, who defied the US for 50 years, dies at 90 in Cuba."

Instances of liberal media outlets including critical remarks about conservative voices in the moments after their deaths have cropped up in several instances over the past few years. 

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The sad news of conservative radio icon Rush Limbaugh’s passing after a battle with lung cancer led to this colorful headline by The New York Times: "Rush Limbaugh, Who Built Talk Radio Into Right-Wing Attack Machine, Dies."

Rush Limbaugh, the monumentally influential media icon who transformed talk radio and politics in his decades behind the microphone, helping shape the modern-day Republican Party, died in February 2021 at the age of 70 after a battle with lung cancer, his family announced. (Bill Pugliano/Getty Images)

Meanwhile, the article's headline description read, "Mr. Limbaugh, 70, who helped transform the G.O.P., pushed talk radio to the right with misogynistic and racist language and conspiracy theories."

The article opened with a similarly thrashing description of Limbaugh, claiming that his "divisive style of mockery and grievance," in which he denigrated Democrats, "feminazis" and environmentalists, helped to "reshape American conservative." The piece added that Limbaugh acted as a precursor to "the rise of Donald J. Trump."

The article went on to characterize the radio host as a man who pushed "baseless claims" and "toxic rumors" in the days before Reddit and Twitter became "havens" for "disinformation."

Limbaugh, who rose to prominence in the 1980s is credited as one of the star radio personalities responsible for the boom of national political call-in shows. He is also credited with shaping conservative news and entertainment, and paving the way for other conservative networks. A day after his lung cancer diagnosis, he received the Presidential Medal of Freedom from Trump, the highest civilian honor in the United States. 

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A general view of the exterior of The Washington Post Company headquarters in Washington, March 30, 2012. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst/File Photo

Several other influential conservatives also received similar treatment by the media. 

In 2016, following the death of Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia, a New York Times editorial described Scalia as a Justice who "opposed much of the social and political progress of the late 20th century…"

That same day, The Washington Post announced the news of his passing in giant letters. "Supreme Court Conservative Dismayed Liberals," the headline read. 

Notably, the online publication of The Post announced the somber news with a less aggressive headline, simply stating "Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia dies at 79."

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The Post also came under fire in 2019 for a headline describing Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, an extremist leader of the Islamic State group, as an "austere religious scholar."