The New York Times Magazine decided to spice things up on a Friday, so it invited readers jaunt back in time and decide whether they would have killed Hitler.
“We asked @nytmag readers: If you could go back and kill Hitler as a baby, would you do it? (What’s your response?)” the Times tweeted.
Predictably, the Internet exploded.
Former Gawker editor-in-chief Max Read slammed the Times, saying silliness like this is a symbol for the demise of print.
the nyt magazine literally keeps an ethicist on retainer and its asking *twitter* about killing baby hitler. no wonder print is dying
— Max Read (@max_read) October 23, 2015
Another former Gawker editor turned the tables and asked the GOP frontrunner whether he would’ve done the deed.
.@realDonaldTrump would u kill baby hitler — Leah Finnegan (@leahfinnegan) October 23, 2015
Other responses ranged from teasing the Times to proposing different questions altogether.
Was baby Hitler the inventor of peas in guacamole?
— Christopher Hayes (@chrislhayes) October 23, 2015
I’d throw baby Hitler in front of the bullet that killed Cecil the Lion…. https://t.co/RFyW9jciDQ — Because Jaguars (@Canesjag) October 23, 2015
Maybe you’d grow up to be history’s greatest monster too if 42% of @NYTmag‘s readers were always trying to kill you https://t.co/yZn7RZqE0Z
— delrayser (@delrayser) October 23, 2015
AP style on more than one baby hitler is “babies Hitler” — brosferatu (@pauldebenedetto) October 23, 2015
“If you could go back in time would you kill a baby–” “Yes.” “…Hitler.” “Right yeah. I knew you were going to say that.”
— Josh Gondelman (@joshgondelman) October 23, 2015
I ran out to the grocery store for a few minutes and everyone I know is talking about whether they’d kill baby Hitler. Damn, I love Twitter. — Craig Calcaterra (@craigcalcaterra) October 23, 2015
Shouldn’t the question be, would you go back in time and teach baby Hitler better coping mechanisms and maybe get him hooked on Buddhism?
— Olivia Nuzzi (@Olivianuzzi) October 23, 2015
at the very least i would definitely unfollow baby hitler — andy levy (@andylevy) October 23, 2015
.@nyt asks “would you go back in time & kill Baby Hitler?” What is wrong with them? Question should be “would you kill Baby Mufti.” #Duh!
— Katie Halper (@kthalps) October 23, 2015
Given the chance, I would kidnap Baby Hitler and chain him up in the basement like Chunk from “The Goonies.” Baby Hitler? No. BabyRuth. — Brad Willis (@BradWillis) October 23, 2015
@jimgeraghty Just kidnap Baby Hitler and have a Jewish family raise him.
— Rob Turner (@ChillyMostFresh) October 23, 2015
Killing Baby Hitler would be a bad idea. What if, in the new timeline, another person takes his place and is, uh, even more murderous? — Charles Williams (@ChazDoesntCare) October 23, 2015
Currently, just 42 percent of those polled said they would kill the genocidal dictator. Thirty percent said no and 28 percent are unsure.
A spokesperson for the magazine said the poll question is not part of a larger story.
“The magazine publishes the results of a study conducted online in July and August by The New York Times’s research-and-analytics department, reflecting the opinions of 2,987 subscribers who chose to participate,” the spokesperson said. “The feature only runs in print and the magazine usually tweets it out on Friday.”