Chicago TV news WGN apologized after using Nazi symbol in its Yom Kippur coverage, according to the Huffington Post.
On screen, WGN showed a picture of a yellow Star of David with the word “Jude,” which means Jew, in the middle. The Star was shown on top of a blue and white striped background, which appears to match that of the striped uniforms from concentration camps. See the uniforms on the Museum of World War II website.
See below, via the Huffington Post
WGN posted an apology on its website saying the photo came “from a graphics image bank.”
“To our WGN News Viewers,
“Last night we ran a story to recognize Yom Kippur, the Jewish Day of Atonement. The artwork chosen to accompany the story came from a graphics image bank. Regrettably, we failed to recognize that the image was an offensive Nazi symbol.
“We are extremely embarrassed and we deeply apologize to our viewers and to the Jewish community for this mistake.
“Ignorance is not an excuse.
“Please know we are reviewing our in house policies and changes have already been made to make sure a hurtful oversight like this never happens again.
“Thank you for your understanding. We promise to do better.”
The station sent iMediaEthics a similar apology from General Manager Greg Easterly and News Director Jennifer Lyons, sent by press release.
In a tweeted apology, the station added:
“We are truly sorry for inadvertently using an offensive image in our Yom Kippur story. We apologize and deeply regret the error.”