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The ad began with “Dear Citizen of Nashville.” From there, it got dark in a hurry.
The Tennessean newspaper, the biggest in the Tennessee, on Sunday ran an ad from a prophecy group called Ministry for Future for America, which said its mission is to “proclaim the final warning message” from the Bible and warned that “Islam” would blow up a nuclear bomb in the city.
The eight-paragraph, full-page ad featured a photo of President Donald Trump and Pope Francis and careened between such topics as Vladimir Putin, the Democratic Party and 9/11. The group also warned of the likelihood of “another civil war.”
Read some of it in this tweet:
The Tennessean issued an apology on Sunday for the “bizarre, pseudo-religious” ad.
“Clearly there was a breakdown in the normal processes, which call for careful scrutiny of our advertising content,” said Michael A. Anastasi, vice president and editor, noting in the statement that news and ad sales divisions operate independently. “The ad is horrific and is utterly indefensible in all circumstances. It is wrong, period, and should have never been published,” he said.
The newspaper, which launched an investigation, said its advertising standards clearly forbid hate speech and the ad was immediately pulled from future editions.
Jeff Pippenger, a spokesperson for the Ministry of Future for America, stood by the content in the ad and on the group’s website, telling the New York Times that the newspaper owed the group a full refund and did not say how much the ad cost.
“It seems to me the criticism is more aimed at the editorial staff at the newspaper,” Pippenger said, “and the criticism about my religious convictions is simply what happens when you let your religious convictions out into the public arena.”
