Grammar

Associated Press Tweet About Ukraine Plane Crash Leads to Confusion

123RF

Last Updated on February 12, 2022

An Associated Press tweet about a follow-up on the Malaysian Ukraine Plane Crash caused confusion, leading the news organization to send a clarification.

It’s not enough to choose your words carefully: you must also choose the order in which you say them and the punctuation you use with them. That’s what the Associated Press demonstrated last week on social media.

On Wednesday, 40 bodies of victims from the Malaysia Airlines jetliner shot down over Ukraine were flown to Eindhoven, Netherlands in a solemn ceremony.

Upon the plane’s arrival, the AP sent the following tweet about the recovery of bodies from the downed Malaysian Airlines jet in Ukraine:

BREAKING: Dutch military plane carrying bodies from Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 crash lands in Eindhoven.

But wait, did the plane carrying the bodies crash or did the plane carrying bodies recovered from the crash arrive as scheduled?

The construction of the tweet left either as a possibility, making it appear to some that the plane with the bodies had crash-landed, which would have added insult to injuries for these poor souls.

The problem could have been avoided with two strategically-placed commas:

BREAKING: Dutch military plane, carrying bodies from Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 crash, lands in Eindhoven.

The commas would have at least separated the parenthetical information about the plane’s and the new information about its arrival.

Realizing its mistake, and no doubt taking a good deal of ribbing about it, the AP issued a follow-up tweet:

CLARIFIES: Dutch military plane carrying Malaysia Airlines bodies lands in Eindhoven.

I don’t mean to pick unfairly on the AP. This kind of thing could — and has — happened to all of us. But it’s a good reminder to take the time to read and reread what we are writing before we publish. We know what we mean, because we put the words on the screen or on the page. But would someone with no idea of exactly what you’re trying to say be able to figure it out without any mixup?

If not, a little punctuation or a simple rearranging of the words might just be what it takes.

the authorPatrick
Patrick is a Christian with more than 30 years experience in professional writing, producing and marketing. His professional background also includes social media, reporting for broadcast television and the web, directing, videography and photography. He enjoys getting to know people over coffee and spending time with his dog.