Ugandan climate activist cropped out of a picture taken with white counterparts
Climate activist Vanessa Nakate who had been invited to attend a youth climate science event in Switzerland noticed she had been cropped out of a photograph, where she appeared alongside activists Greta Thunberg, Isabelle Axelsson, Luisa Neubauer and Loukina Tille when news coverage of the event emerged.
“This is the first time in my life that I understood the definition of the word racism,” Nakate said in a video statement released online.
Nakate confronted AP about the incident on Twitter, writing “Why did you remove me from the photo? I was part of the group!”
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In a video statement published online, Nakate said: “I see the photos and I clearly see how I was cropped out of the photos.
“My message was left out, and my photo was left out as well,” she said.
“You didn’t just erase a photo. You erased a continent. But I am stronger than ever,” Nakate said later on Twitter.
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However, in a statement released on Friday, AP Executive Editor Sally Buzbee apologized for the incident.
“We regret publishing a photo this morning that cropped out Ugandan climate activist Vanessa Nakate, the only person of colour in the photo. As a news organization, we care deeply about accurately representing the world that we cover,” Buzbee said.
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