#SocialMediaFail

New York Post found itself in hot water after they published a photo on their front page showcasing two men with the title “BAG MEN, Fed seeks these two pictured”.

The two men were Salaheddin Barhoum, 16, and Yassine Zaimi, 24. Impulsively labeled as possible suspects to the Boston Marathon bombing, their picture was splashed across the front page.

Barhoum came to watch the marathon only to find a picture of himself online and labeled a suspect. Barhoum went to the police and his father sought legal action. Both Barhoum and Zaimi then sued the Post for libel, negligent infliction of emotional distress and invasion of privacy.

It was just hours after Barhoum and Zaimi were headliners that the FBI released the pictures of Tamerlan and Dzhokhar Tsarnaev.

Both Barhoum and Zaimi are legal residents, granted visas four years ago when they came from Morocco to Massachusetts.

The Post couldn’t afford this mistake as just days before it had reported an incorrect number of people killed, claiming a larger number lost than accurate. They also claimed wrongly that authorities had found a person of interest a mere hours after the bombing took place.

Their fail had a major effect on many people, not including the two men whose lives were directly affected. Many were shocked and disappointed.

Times television critic, James Ponisewozik phrased it best with one word, “Appalling,” he said.

The New York Post failed to make much of a recovery, however, when they defended their front page photo.

“We did not identify them as suspects,” Post Chief Col. Allan said.