US news agency advises against writing ‘the French’ for being ‘dehumanizing’

First modification: 01/27/2023 – 11:39

The style book of the historic AP news agency, which includes good writing practices, is a kind of bible for American journalists. So the tweet published this Thursday caused a stir on social networks.

“We recommend avoiding global and often dehumanizing labels such as ‘the’ [‘the’ in inglés], like the poor, the mentally ill, the French, the disabled, the graduates. Instead, use words like people affected by mental illness. And use these descriptions only when they are clearly relevant.

The reactions were swift and incredulous Internet users made various proposals, from “person with French experience” to “frogs” (frogs in English) to “assigned French at birth.” NBC editor Ben Collins suggested for his part “person experiencing a croque-monsieur”.

The French Embassy in the United States proposed for its part to be renamed “Embassy of Frenchness”, which we could translate as “Embassy of ‘Francedad'”.

The truth is that many wondered why this nationality was chosen among all, and if it had to be understood as an attack on the French. On Friday, the AP published a tweet admitting that the use of “The French” had been inappropriate and that the previous tweet would be corrected.