NYT slapped as hypocritical for implying Aldean song is racist, but downplaying alleged ‘anti-White’ chant

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Rogan mocks selective outrage over Aldean's 'Try That in a Small Town'

Rogan marveled at the eruption of controversy regarding a recent country song, noting many other songs in modern times have "wild" lyrics.

Critics accused the New York Times of hypocrisy this week after the paper ran an article fixating on the supposed racist tones of Jason Aldean’s song "Try That in Small Town," and another article explaining that claims that a South African chant has an alleged anti-white message were being blown out of proportion. 

Annoyed X (formally Twitter) users stated  that on one hand, the liberal paper was trying to gin up controversy to smear a conservative-themed country song, while on the other hand absolving a racist screed sung by a South African political leader at a rally.

Even X  owner Elon Musk trashed the people running the Times as "contemptible hypocrites" for running the two seemingly irreconcilable pieces.

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The New York Times reported recently that  critics claim Jason Aldeans new country song, "Try That In A Small" is a "call to racist vigilantism." (Rich Polk/Getty Images for iHeartRadio)

The New York Times published both articles on Wednesday. In the piece covering country star Aldean’s Billboard chart-topping song – an anthem declaring that middle Americans will defend their communities from crime, violence and rioting – the outlet noted that "critics" have described it "as a call to racist vigilantism."

Despite the song and its music video making no references to race, and the Times not providing any evidence to back up the claims of the "critics" it referenced, the outlet again characterized the work as one of racial controversy, stating that "Aldean has denied that ‘Try That’ is ‘a pro-lynching song,’ or that race plays any part in the song’s lyrics."

Though the second piece about South African political leader Julius Malema’s political rally chant "Kill the Boer!" from several days ago, downplayed concerns that Malema was calling for racial animosity, even though in the article the author admitted "Kill the Boer!" refers to killing white South African Farmers.

The piece, written by author John Eligon who attended the rally in Johannesburg, South Africa and witnessed the chant, described the scene, stating, "Thousands of supporters joined in, and when he reached the climax, they pointed their fingers in the air like guns. ‘Kill the Boer!’ Julius Malema chanted, referring to white farmers. The crowd in a stadium in Johannesburg on Saturday roared back in approval."

Despite detailing the chant in this way, Eligon framed the controversy of the chant as being ginned up by outraged "right-wing commentators." In the subheader, the author wrote, "Right-wing commenters claim that an old anti-apartheid chant is a call to anti-white violence, but historians and the left-wing politician who embraces it say it should not be taken literally."

Later in the piece, he added, "Despite the words, the song should not be taken as a literal call to violence, according to Mr. Malema and veterans and historians of the anti-apartheid struggle."

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Critics slammed The New York Times for reporting on the alleged racism of Jason Aldean's new country song as racist, while appearing to absolve the racism of an "anti-white" South African chant that recently went viral. (Fox News Photo/Joshua Comins)

Conservatives slammed the paper for inserting racist controversy into a song that had none, and absolving the racism front and center in the chant.

Journalist Ian Miles Cheong noted the double standard, tweeting, "So let's get this straight: Jason Aldean's ‘Try that in a Small Town’ is a racist anthem, but the conservative response to the anti-white anthem ‘Kill the Boer’ misses the context and it blown out of proportion. Typical for The New York Times."

Popular conservative account "End Wokeness" captured the double standard, tweeting, "’White lives matter’ - hate speech. ‘It’s okay to be white’ - hate speech. ‘Try that in a small town’ - hate speech. ‘Kill the white farmers’ - It’s just a chant."

Musk commented on End Wokeness’ post, providing his assessment of what’s happening in South Africa. He wrote, "They are actually killing white farmers every day. It’s not just a threat."

Conservative influencer @HarmfulOpinion commented on the Times’ "Kill The Boer" article, stating, "This is fine, but Jason Aldean’s ‘Try that in a small town’ in an anthem for white supremacy?"

Fox News Digital reached out to the New York Times for comment. This article will be updated with any reply. 

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