A reporter from Thunder Bay burst into flames on Thursday morning after the word racism was published in a headline without quotes.
Daniel Jacobs, 34, was a reporter for the Thunder Bay Times who was covering incidents where Indigenous people are being pelted with eggs.
Once the headline was published, witnesses said Jacobs began to scream and was burned to ashes within minutes.
“He knew this was going to happen, he kept telling his editor to use quotes around the word racism or instead use racially-tinged or something about racial undertones,” said Debbie Jacobs, his wife.
“His editor wouldn’t listen, and now my husband’s ashes are on his hands!”
The spontaneous combustion of Jacobs quickly spread fear to newsrooms across the nation, with many reporters saying they are going to continue putting quotes — or even use double quotes — around the word racism or referring to incidents as ‘racially-tinged’ for fear of being blowed up.
[kofi]