MSNBC became the subject of brutal online ridicule and mockery Thursday night after the left-leaning cable network referred to the terror attack in Nice, France, as a "truck crash."
Follow our live blog for the latest from Nice after a truck crash leaves at least 70 dead https://t.co/FdX3z4hq8Vpic.twitter.com/DiPZew4yX1
— MSNBC (@MSNBC) July 15, 2016
"Follow our live blog for the latest from Nice after a truck crash leaves at least 70 dead," a tweet from MSNBC read after the deadly attack.
It didn't take long for many to call attention to the tweet. One user replied to the tweet, saying, "who writes this crap?" and another asked, "what is wrong with you people?"
@MSNBC Truck crash? Seriously. Who writes this crap? You have minimal credibility as it is. Why throw what little is left in the toilet?
— David Anslinger (@brownieelfdr) July 15, 2016
@MSNBC truck crash? What is wrong with you people?
— Robyn (@robdetf) July 15, 2016
Later, critics began using the hashtag "MNSBC Headlines" to mock the network for its apparent denial of what had occurred in Nice.
Here's just a small sampling of the tweets:
84 Pedestrian protesters damage Muslim-owned truck in Nice, France hate crime. #MSNBCHEADLINES
— Blue Steel Democrat (@AmericanJohhny) July 15, 2016
Clearer Roadway Markings Essential To Pedestrian Safety As Evidenced In Nice Truck Accident
— Not That Sarah (@FoundersGirl) July 15, 2016
#MSNBCHeadlines
French racists prevent Muslim truck driver from making deliveries #MSNBCHeadlines
— Mike (@mrjc1)July 15, 2016
White, high capacity, assault style truck inspired by NRA and NAASCAR, kills dozens. #MSNBCHeadlines
— Jeremiah (@jerrahmya) July 15, 2016
Unemployment causes truck attack in Nice! #MSNBCHeadlines
— Honest Abe (@mm8367) July 15, 2016
No truck needs 18 wheels! #MSNBCHeadlines
— Michael Frisbie (@PastorFrisbie) July 15, 2016
Gun Takes Wheel Of Truck, Plows Into Crowd Of People #MSNBCHeadlines
— Ken Diesel, PhD (@KenDiesel) July 15, 2016
How the Tea Party Made Truck Purchases So Easy. #MSNBCHeadlines@notalemming
— Christie (@RepRepublic) July 15, 2016
#MSNBCHeadlines#NiceAttack Truck Driver was playing the Jihadist version of Pokemon Go
— Laughing Lyon (@Laughing_Lyon) July 15, 2016
#MSNBCHeadlines Founding Fathers Only Intended All Citizens to Have Wagons, Not Assault-style Trucks.
— Christie (@RepRepublic) July 15, 2016
Cool! People are actually talking about us!#MSNBCHeadlines
— Patrick Henry (@PatrickHenrySOL) July 15, 2016
President Barack Obama and French President Francois Hollande had both referred to the incident as a "terrorist attack" well before MSNBC issued the tweet. About an hour before it was posted, the White House tweeted a statement from Obama.
"On behalf of the American people, I condemn in the strongest terms what appears to be a terrorist attack," the statement read.
.@POTUS on the attack in Nice, France: pic.twitter.com/CrbChxZs04
— The White House (@WhiteHouse) July 14, 2016
Hollande has said the deadly attack was of a "terrorist character."
The attack, which killed at least 84, involved a large white truck plowing over pedestrians along the French Mediterranean coast on Bastille Day, the country's equivalent to America's Independence Day.
At least 84 were killed and more than 200 were injured in what is now the third-largest terror attack on a Western country since 9/11, after the Paris attacks in November 2015 and Madrid train bombings in March 2004.
This story has been updated.
(H/T: Twitchy)
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