Newsweek's 'Muslim Rage' Cover Sparks Scorn, Jokes

Newsweek's main account encouraged its followers to discuss the cover story using the #MuslimRage hashtag.
Newsweek @Newsweek
Want to discuss our latest cover? Let's hear it with the hashtag: #MuslimRage.
Mon, Sep 17 2012 07:45:24
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The hashtag backfired on Newsweek, eliciting hundreds of outraged responses and jokes.
RT if you're disappointed w/ @Newsweek's cover. Thank you for contributing further to the negative portrayal of Arabs. http://pic.twitter.com/0mIYkdEn
Mai E @MaiE_89
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Mon, Sep 17 2012 07:50:54
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Reza Aslan @rezaaslan
Welcome to the new digital age @Newsweek. Your attempts to use #MuslimRage to discuss your foul cover has become funniest joke on twitter.
Mon, Sep 17 2012 09:17:45
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Arab Fury @Arab_Fury
Muslims just hijacked @Newsweek's hashtag. Pun intended. #MuslimRage
Mon, Sep 17 2012 08:29:29
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Media critic Jeff Jarvis suggested Newsweek's cover made the magazine akin to an internet "troll" -- i.e. Someone writing inflammatory comments intended to provoke, not inform:
Jeff Jarvis @jeffjarvis
Best way to deal with trolls: Silence. Second-best: mockery, e.g., #muslimrage
Mon, Sep 17 2012 10:29:21
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Sociology professor Zeynep Tufekci noted a key difference: visibility.
Zeynep Tufekci @techsoc
.@jeffjarvis They are "trolling" but most of the time, trolls are in marginal. A magazine cover in every check-out counter has real power.
Mon, Sep 17 2012 10:34:21
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Many of the most retweeted jokes made references to Muslim customs.
Hend @LibyaLiberty
I'm having such a good hair day. No one even knows. #MuslimRage
Mon, Sep 17 2012 09:42:43
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Simon Robinson @iron_emu
Ramadan in Iceland when days are 23 hours long. #muslimrage
Mon, Sep 17 2012 09:51:20
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Noz @BeardedGenius
They circumcised me twice due to an 'administrative error'. #MuslimRage
Mon, Sep 17 2012 10:53:02
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Others made cracks about "rage" instigated by minor issues at meals.
Evan Hill @evanchill
The shawarma guys wraps my sandwich too tightly, so I have to rip off little pieces of paper bit by bit. #MuslimRage
Mon, Sep 17 2012 08:56:41
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There's a lot of #MuslimRage going on in this photo. http://pic.twitter.com/e5PB5US4
Andrew Kaczynski @BuzzFeedAndrew
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Mon, Sep 17 2012 09:30:38
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live @live2Tripoli
I asked for Halal, they only had Kosher #MuslimRage
Mon, Sep 17 2012 08:39:47
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Gawker.com responded to the Newsweek story with images that jokingly illustrated the opposite of "Muslim Rage." Their blog post showed photos of happy Muslim couples, children and Muslim breakdancers.
13 Powerful Images of Muslim Rage
"MUSLIM RAGE," screams Newsweek's new cover story about last week's violent anti-American protests. Ayaan Hirsi Ali, the well-known anti-...
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Gawker
On the other hand, some Muslim Twitter users expressed their frustration with Western media.
Contrarian ضد التيار @SaraKhorshid
I am a Muslim, therefore I rage (this is what some Western media outlets taught me about myself) #MuslimRage
Mon, Sep 17 2012 10:30:38
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Reuters media correspondent Jack Shafer pointed out that the firestorm on Twitter provided plenty of free publicity for Newsweek and its editor, Tina Brown.
Jack Shafer @jackshafer
Every time you tweet about a Newsweek cover, @TheTinaBeast giggles.
Mon, Sep 17 2012 07:34:18
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