Wall Street Journal, a highly-esteemed international newspaper, found themselves in a peculiar position yesterday when they themselves became the topic of the news. The newspaper sparked outrage on social media after they confused two renowned black gymnasts on the US women’s gymnast team, Simone Biles and Shilese Jones.
On October 9, WSJ posted an article on X that paid homage to the most decorated gymnast of all time, Simone Biles. The photo in the article, however, was not of Biles, but of her teammate Shilese Jones, who is an equally talented gymnast in her own right.
Well that was embarrassing for @WSJ pic.twitter.com/NL3BZPkKON
— Dr. Starsky (@StarskyGym) October 9, 2023
The post on social media read, “With 37 world and Olympic medals now, Simone Biles added to her extraordinary legacy at the world championships in Belgium”
Social media buzzing
According to one redditor, the post stayed on X for a few hours until Biles herself caught the photo mishap.
The 26-year old Olympian then reposted the photo and captioned it, “this picture isn’t even me…….. try again”.
After finally realizing their terrible mistake, they deleted the post and reposted the article on their website using the correct photo of Biles this time. They then commented on Biles’ post, saying “We have corrected the photo in the story and on social media.”
We have corrected the photo in the story and on social media.
— The Wall Street Journal (@WSJ) October 9, 2023
When the news of this photo incident spread, many were quick to criticize the media outlet and question their credibility, with some noting that the two gymnasts clearly have a different stature, and any fan would be able to discern the difference.
One user even commented, “Thank you for reminding me that even with black excellence comes a lot of black discrimination. It is not hard for a journalist to look up the correct picture of the correct person. I’m sorry this happened to you. Continue being amazing.”
Thank you for reminding me that even with black excellence comes a lot of black discrimination. It is not hard for a journalist to look up the correct picture of the correct person. I’m sorry this happened to you. Continue being amazing.
— Brian W Burks (@BrianWBurks1) October 9, 2023
While another user pointed out that although Jones was equally deserving of being featured in their publication, they still should have gotten the photo right, “@ShileseJ is definitely worthy of the spotlight but the @WSJ should have gotten your photo right. And then published a separate story featuring Shilese, a rising star and America’s *next* sweetheart.”
@ShileseJ is definitely worthy of the spotlight but the @WSJ should have gotten your photo right.
And then published a separate story featuring Shilese, a rising star and America's *next* sweetheart.
— David Richard Martin (@DavidMartinDRM1) October 9, 2023
Kathy Johnson, an ESPN/ABC commentator, posted an apology on X after sharing the initial WSJ article:
“My heartfelt apology for sharing something that was clearly insensitive to
@Simone_Biles and every Black athlete who has had an incorrect photo assigned to them. It was unintentional, but I accept responsibility for seeming not to know better, especially when I actually DO know.”
My heartfelt apology for sharing something that was clearly insensitive to @Simone_Biles and every Black athlete who has had an incorrect photo assigned to them. It was unintentional, but I accept responsibility for seeming not to know better, especially when I actually DO know.
— Kathy Johnson Clarke, OLY ☮️💜🌏 (@kathyjohnsongym) October 9, 2023
Although the post has been removed and the article has been revised, X users went on to rail against the newspaper, claiming that what they had done was deeply offensive to black athletes and that they had yet to post an apology for Biles.
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The photo above is from