Washington Post admits 'editing error' on piece questioning Argentina soccer team for lack of Black players

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The Washington Post was forced to issue a correction to an opinion piece that highlighted the lack of Black players on Argentina's World Cup squad.

Argentina scored a spot in the tournament's semifinal after defeating the Netherlands in a penalty shootout in Friday's wild matchup. In her Washington Post opinion piece, Erika Denise Edwards, an associate professor at the University of Texas at El Paso, shared her critique on the racial makeup of the team.   

"Why doesn't Argentina have more Black players in the World Cup?" the headline for Edwards' piece asked, with the subtitle, "Argentina is far more diverse than many people realize — but the myth that it is a White nation has persisted."

She encouraged her Twitter followers to read her piece with the preview, "A history of Black erasure in Argentina!! Check out my article!"

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Lionel Messi of Argentina drives the ball during the 2022 FIFA World Cup Qatar group C between Argentina and Saudi Arabia at Lusail Stadium on November 22, 2022, in Lusail, Qatar.  (Florencia Tan Jun/PxImages/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

Edwards argued Argentina stands "in stark contrast" to other South American countries such as Brazil in terms of Black representation. She said that while a 2010 census seemed to confirm for many that Argentina was a White nation, showing that less than one percent of the country was Black, history suggests otherwise.

"In 2010, Argentina’s government released a census that noted 149,493 people, far less than one percent of the country, was Black," she wrote. "For many, that data seemed to confirm that Argentina was indeed a White nation."

"But roughly 200,000 African captives disembarked on the shores of the Río de la Plata during Argentina’s colonial period, and, by the end of the 18th century, one-third of the population was Black," Edwards continued. "Indeed, not only is the idea of Argentina as a White nation inaccurate, it clearly speaks to a longer history of Black erasure at the heart of the country’s self-definition."

She goes on to list several "myths" that purportedly "explain" the absence of Black Argentines.

Since its publication, the Washington Post has admitted an "editing error" in Edwards' piece concerning the census data she cited.

"Due to an editing error, an earlier version of this piece noted that roughly one percent of the Argentinian population was Black according to a 2010 government released census," a correction at the top of the article now reads. "While the number of Black people cited was accurate, the percentage was actually far less than one percent and the piece has been amended to state that."

LUSAIL CITY, QATAR - DECEMBER 09: Argentina players celebrate after their win in the penalty shootout during the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 quarter final match between Netherlands and Argentina at Lusail Stadium on December 09, 2022 in Lusail City, Qatar. (Photo by Matthias Hangst/Getty Images)

Several social media users balked at the correction and the article at large, alleging that Edwards was out of her depth on commenting on Argentine culture.   

"It doesn't matter the country," The Lafayette Co. president Ellen Carmichael tweeted. "Sports are always a bad indicator of a country's racial makeup."

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"These pieces are always written by people who know 0 about football but a lot about woke," Ben Harris-Quinney, chairman of the British think tank The Bow Group, tweeted. "Are @WashingtonPost suggesting there are good black Argentine players not being selected for the team due to racism? Who are they? No footballing nation leaves great players out due to race."

LUSAIL CITY, QATAR - DECEMBER 09: Wout Weghorst of Netherlands celebrates after scoring the team's second goal during the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 quarter final match between Netherlands and Argentina at Lusail Stadium on December 09, 2022 in Lusail City, Qatar. (Photo by Cathrin Mueller - FIFA/FIFA via Getty Images)

"You can't apply an American perspective to this, @washingtonpost," Nico Slobinsky, Senior Director at the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs, similarly said. "The obsession to put everything through a lens that fits your world view in deeply troubling. In your article, you demonstrate a complete lack of understanding of the Indigenous, and Hispanic history of Argentina."

But Edwards said most of the feedback she's received from the piece has been positive. 

"The overwhelming feedback I have received has been positive," Edwards told Fox News Digital. "Many people and especially Argentines are excited to finally have a conversation about race in Argentina. While difficult for some, this conversation is needed to reckon with the past. There is nothing that I stated that is factually incorrect. Some may not have liked the focus on race, but the questions around Argentina's perceived whiteness and lack of diversity is very much about their culture and history." 

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Some of Edwards' defenders said they saw her larger point. 

"Came here for @Prof_Edwards’ historical analysis about Argentine racial formation but instead got blindsided by Argentines fuming about their country’s racial exceptionalism in the comments," Jorge E. Cuéllar, an assistant professor in Latin American, Latino, & Caribbean studies at Dartmouth College, tweeted.

"Gosh damn, solidarity to this scholar," Dr. Johanna Mellis, co-host of The End of Sport podcast, said. "Shows how needed this work is but also the levels of vitriol people decide to send her way for presenting an evidence-based analysis."

Edwards invited Twitter users on Monday to check out an NPR interview in which she explains her experience having traveled, lived, and conducted research in Argentina for over 20 years. 

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"Over the past 20 years I have visited and had various extended stays in Argentina," Edwards told Fox Digital. "Argentina is an amazing country with very welcoming people! I cannot thank enough the various friends, who have become like family, and colleagues who helped me become the Fulbright Scholar, Ford Fellow, and award-winning author I am today. I am forever grateful to the Argentine archivists and academics who have done this work for years! It is an honor to have had my work received so positively by them."

Argentina will square off against Croatia in the first World Cup semifinal on Tuesday.