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The New York Times is facing tremendous criticism for their latest Sunday crossword puzzle, which resembled a Swastika, considered to be the principal symbol of the Nazis.
Disclaimer: The following story contains information that may be disturbing to some readers. Viewer discretion is advised.
The backlash intensified especially because Sunday, December 18, 2022, marked the beginning of Hanukkah, an important festival for the Jewish community. One user on Twitter pointed out how the newspaper didn’t even try to hide the symbol.
The puzzle was created by a consulting manager named Ryan McCarty, who titled it, "Some Theme’s Missing." McCarty has also been the creator of 22 other puzzles for the New York Times.
As per SBS, in a section of the newspaper titled “constructor notes,” McCarty expressed his excitement about debuting in the Sunday crossword puzzle of the newspaper and wrote:
"This grid features one of my favourite open middles that I've made as it pulls from a variety of subject areas. I had originally tried to make it work in a 15x15 grid but then decided to expand the grid out to a Sunday-size puzzle with a fun whirlpool shape. Hope you enjoy!"
Despite McCarty describing the crossword as a "fun whirlpool shape," the newspaper was heavily criticized on social media.
The New York Times gets slammed on social media for recent crossword puzzle
One person on Twitter wrote that they did not notice the overall design of the puzzle until they finished it, but were shocked once they realized the similarity. They also mentioned that this counts as the third time the newspaper is being called out for a puzzle resembling a Swastika. Previously, they were called out in 2014 and 2017 for similar incidents.
More and more people are now taking to social media to demand answers from the New York Times. Some said that even if it was unintentional on the part of the creator, the editor should have sent it back for rectification.
People are also saying that having made similar mistakes in the past, the New York Times should have put in an effort to avoid another similar incident. Furthermore, several netizens are demanding that the NYT address this issue publicly.
Here are some reactions from Twitter:
Response from New York Times
DailyMail reported that in response to the backlash against the puzzle, a New York Times sportsperson said:
"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."
As per Fox News, in a column about the crossword, Caitlin Lovinger said that she loved the geometry of the puzzle, containing several stair steps. She also shared that she feels this pattern will contribute to an "evenness" once solved.
In response to this, one user on Twitter said that they immediately noticed the puzzle resembling the Swastika symbol. Many also discussed the editors being insensitive, adding that this requires strict action to be taken.
