A science editor at BuzzFeed UK raised a few eyebrows last week after some curious remarks about Communism.
“All I want for Christmas is full Communism now,” editor Kelly Oakes tweeted — before locking down her account after it was picked by right-wing media and the always ferocious James Woods.
The screenshots tell the story.
#BuzzFeed editor. Enough said. pic.twitter.com/zShnRtd7sO
— James Woods (@RealJamesWoods) December 17, 2017
A spokesperson for BuzzFeed declined to comment on the matter. Oakes, who does not report to the website’s U.S.-based science desk, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Critics pointed out that Communism as practiced by the Soviet Union, China and North Korea has led to the deaths of over 100 million people, according to the Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation.
It’s not the first time BuzzFeed has gotten into hot water over their editorial staff tweeting their open sympathy toward Communism.
In November, BuzzFeed reporter Blake Montgomery blasted a White House proclamation memorializing victims of Communism and tweeted out his belief that the term “victims of Communism” was just dog whistle and a “white nationalist talking point.”
The tweet was swiftly deleted and Montgomery apologized.
BuzzFeed reporter — tweet now deleted pic.twitter.com/SnhdejYUle
— Jon Levine (@LevineJonathan) November 8, 2017
“I didn’t mean in any way to diminish the many real victims of communism, and my tweet was a bad misintrepretation [sic] of the president’s declaration. I’ve deleted it,” he wrote. “I cover white nationalists, and they use that language a lot, which is why I made that very dumb mistake.”