WaPo slammed for headline saying 'economy appeared ready to surge,' Russian invasion 'could send shockwaves'
Inflation hit a 40-year high in early February
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The Washington Post was slammed for a Feb. 25 headline that said the "U.S. economy appeared ready to surge" and that the Russian invasion of Ukraine "could send shockwaves."
The WaPo piece reported that "a few weeks ago … falling gas prices, and a newly buoyant stock market set the table for what many felt could be a surging U.S. economy in 2022."
"But those rosy scenarios are suddenly in doubt, as rampant geopolitical uncertainty has helped drive up energy prices and send global markets on a roller-coaster ride," the piece continues to read.
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The price of food, clothing and other goods, however, has been on the rise for several months.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}A shopper walks through the meat products at a grocery store in Dallas on April 29, 2020. (AP Photo/LM Otero)
In October 2021, prices rose 6.2 percent over a year, which at the time was the highest it's been since 1990.
Inflation hit a 40-year-high in early February. The Consumer Price Index (CPI) rose 7.5 percent in January from the same time in 2021. It was the fastest increase since February 1982, when inflation hit 7.6 percent. The CPI rose 0.6 percent between December and January.
Gas now costs 40% more than it did in January 2021. Though prices decreased slightly in the beginning of December 2021 when oil prices were $60 a barrel – AAA Gas prices having noted that the price hadn't been that low since August – gas prices have been on the rise again since the beginning of January.
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Political commentators and more took to Twitter to criticize the headline, with Sen. Ted Cruz, R-TX., tweeting "spin, baby, spin."
"WaPo providing cover, per usual," another said.
Gas prices at a Shell gas station on March 10, 2020, in Los Angeles, California. (Mario Tama/Getty Images)
Ryan Williams of the Claremont Institute said "the propaganda is getting comically bad."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}CBS News was also criticized for a similar tweet that read, "The U.S. economy has been hit with increased gas prices, inflation, and supply-chain issues due to the Ukraine crisis."
The headline was criticized as "hysterical" and "simply not true."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy attends a joint press conference with his counterparts from Lithuania and Poland following their talks in Kyiv on Feb. 23, 2022. (Sergei Supinsky/AFP via Getty Images)
Russian President Vladimir Putin put the country's nuclear forces on high alert Sunday as citizens continue to take up arms in Ukraine and fight for their country. Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced Saturday that the U.S. would be sending $350 million in military assistance to Ukraine.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who has vowed to remain in Ukraine, announced Sunday that the country and Russia would be conducting peace talks for the first time since the invasion.