Supporters of Democratic presidential candidate Andrew Yang, collectively known as the #YangGang, called out the New York Times for its inaccurate depiction of the candidate’s height in a recent ad.
Many eagle-eyed supporters noticed that in the New York Times poster, titled “October Democratic Debate: The Biggest Stage Ever,” the 44-year-old entrepreneur appeared slightly shorter in stature compared to his real height, Twitchy reported.
Others also noticed that fellow Democratic presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg was stepping on Yang’s foot in the picture, possibly giving him a boost in height.
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Another user pointed out that while Yang and Julián Castro are portrayed as the same height in the ad, Yang seemed to be much taller in person.
American Olympian Mark Schultz called out the publication for the “disrespectful” portrayal of Yang.
After the backlash, NYT Politics Editor Patrick Healy corrected the heights of Yang as well as the other candidates on the poster.
In his post, he explains: “How a political candidate looks in photographs and on television has always been influential with some voters. We bend over backward with images, assigning terrific photographers, videographers and visual designers to cover politics.”
“The reaction to our visual guide to tonight’s debate among many Andrew Yang supporters, who believed our image made him look a little shorter than he is, reflects the importance of visuals in politics, and we are mindful about that.”
“The graphic will never be exact because of photo perspective and angles, as well as factors like shoes and posture. We have been scrutinizing the graphic and have made adjustments to the appearances of Yang, Sanders, Harris, and Klobuchar, again with the aim of getting it right.”
“We appreciate the feedback on this graphic and all of our work covering the 2020 campaign,” he said.
Featured Image via Twitter / @Forward_2020 (Left), @patrickhealynyt (Right)
