CANCEL CULTURE

New Hire Fired by AP After Conservatives Unearth Pro-Palestinian Activism, Posts

In one post, Wilder called the late Israel backer Sheldon Adelson a “naked mole-rat looking billionaire.”

Emily Wilder, a 2020 Stanford grad who had just been hired as a news associate at the Associated Press earlier this month, was kicked to the curb after conservative media outlets began squawking about her pro-Palestinian activism. The furor started on Monday after Wilder aroused the ire of the Stanford College Republicans club for her political social media posts. In one post, she called late casino magnate and Israel backer Sheldon Adelson a “naked mole-rat looking billionaire.” In another, she called conservative pundit Ben Shapiro a “little turd.” The Stanford College Republicans reposted her comments and also highlighted her presence at a 2017 pro-Palestinian rally in New York City.

Soon, complaints about her hiring were being repeated by outlets like Fox News and The Federalist. Shortly afterward, the AP told Wilder it was letting her go for violating its social media policy. “To me, it feels like the AP folded to the ridiculous demands and cheap bullying of organizations and individuals,” Wilder told The Washington Post. “Yes, I had opinions in college, and yes, I still have opinions, because everybody has opinions. I have never denied any of that.”