For the third time, the New York Times daily crossword puzzle featured a Swastika. First in 2014, again in 2017, and most recently – and blatantly – on Sunday, December 18th. This time, the crossword also happens to coincide with the first night of Hanukkah. A bit unfortunate, considering the milieu of mounting antisemitism in this country. To exacerbate things, apparently, two of the clues in Sunday’s puzzle relate to Nazi, Germany. The paper is rightfully receiving tons of backlash for the antisemitic slip-up.
Can anyone explain why the Times crossword is a swastika on the first day of Hanukkah pic.twitter.com/z3cZ3nPVZ6
— Themperor Kennedy (@kennedytcooper) December 18, 2022
It wasn't AI it was designed by a person.
— Vex And Silence (@RyanLedbetter20) December 20, 2022
Why do people lie about the dumbest shit? pic.twitter.com/JnYDowAUFg
3 times 2014, 2017, and 2022 they’ve “accidentally” put swastikas in their crosswords. This time it happened on the first day of Haunakkah. Anyone remember what you learned about patterns in elementary school? https://t.co/ZHEdHr3vCd
— Uteless and Useless! (@othergaystoner) December 19, 2022
It’s difficult to imagine whoever’s in charge of the daily crossword missed something this obvious, but the New York Times insisted that “this is a common crossword design: Many open grids in crosswords have a similar spiral pattern because of the rules around rotational symmetry and black squares.” Apparently, this wasn’t even a mistake they could chalk up to AI. Somebody working at the New York Times chose this grid pattern, and with verve.
Always scan for swastikas and/or dicks before shipping @NYTGames, it’s all a part of the job https://t.co/9zVJQPhnEi pic.twitter.com/gEVh1kJoyz
— Jessie Char (@jessiechar) December 19, 2022
“Boxcars” and “Brandenburg Gate” are two clues back-to-back in the middle of the swastika design in the @nytimes crossword puzzle. Bro, are you fucking kidding me?? pic.twitter.com/tcaoD2PpF2
— Henrock (@BCHenrock) December 19, 2022
And of course, there was understandable outrage on Twitter.
A few years ago, the New York Times upset people by publishing a crossword that looked vaguely like a swastika. To rectify this, they published a new crossword today that looks *exactly* like a swastika pic.twitter.com/QNCLhiCNFo
— Dan O'Brien (@OtherDanOBrien) December 18, 2022
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