Oregonian newspaper ripped for identifying police shooting victim as White 'in light of social unrest'

close

Video

Fox News Flash top headlines for April 16

Fox News Flash top headlines are here. Check out what's clicking on Foxnews.com.

The Oregonian newspaper received fierce backlash Friday after it revealed the race of the victim of a police-involved shooting in Portland in an apparent effort to quell potential riots.

The Portland-based paper reported that police had responded to reports of a man in a park with a gun. 

The victim was described by the paper, which cited sources, as a "[W]hite man in his 30s."

However, in a Twitter thread sharing the report, the Oregonian emphasized the victim's race in the wake of a string of police-involved shootings have made national headlines. 

CBS NEWS SLAMMED FOR CROPPING BODYCAM FOOTAGE OF ADAM TOLEDO HOLDING GUN BEFORE FATAL SHOOTING

"The man who was killed was a [W]hite man in his 30s, according to three sources with knowledge of the investigation. The Oregonian/OregonLive is identifying the man's race in light of social unrest prompted by police shootings of Black people," the paper tweeted. 

The Oreganian was slammed by critics on social media. 

"'The police killed a man, he was [W]hite so you don't need to come and riot' is a sane and healthy message coming from our media," conservative commentator Stephen Miller reacted. 

CNN CREW CHASED AWAY BY MINNESOTA RIOTERS AFTER CREW MEMBER HIT IN THE HEAD WITH A WATER BOTTLE

"Did a newspaper just imply that they leaked info about the skin color of a police shooting victim in order to avert a riot? Or is something else going on here?" journalist Zaid Jilani asked. 

"'No need to riot on this one, he was [W]hite' - this newspaper, basically," The Daily Wire reporter Ryan Saavedra similarly expressed.

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

The paper ultimately deleted the tweet and later offered a clarification.

"We included information in an earlier tweet about why we identified the victim’s race that was poorly worded," the Oregonian wrote. "It was not intended to minimize what happened, only to provide context. We generally do not identify race in news stories but often do when reporting police shootings."