American Airlines responded by stating they take all claims of discrimination seriously and are investigating the matter.
Black male passengers were removed without valid reason based solely on their race.
Incident occurred on a flight from Phoenix to New York on January 5, 2024.
Men experienced feelings of embarrassment, humiliation, anxiety, anger, and distress during and after incident.
Plaintiffs allege they were singled out and told of body odor complaint, but none had offensive body odor.
Three Black men, Alvin Jackson, Emmanuel Jean Joseph, and Xavier Veal, filed a lawsuit against American Airlines for racial discrimination.
Three Black men, Alvin Jackson, Emmanuel Jean Joseph, and Xavier Veal, have filed a lawsuit against American Airlines for racial discrimination. The incident occurred on a flight from Phoenix to New York on January 5, 2024. According to the complaint filed by the men and consumer advocacy group Public Citizen, American Airlines representatives ordered all Black male passengers off the plane before takeoff without any valid reason based solely on their race.
The plaintiffs allege that they were singled out as every Black man on the flight was removed. They were told a body odor complaint had prompted their removal, but none of them had offensive body odor. At least one American Airlines representative agreed with the plaintiffs that they had been targeted because of their race.
The men were eventually allowed back on the plane after about an hour, but not before experiencing feelings of embarrassment, humiliation, anxiety, anger, and distress during and after the incident. The lawsuit also refers to American Airlines' previous pattern of discriminating against Black passengers as highlighted in a 2017 NAACP travel advisory.
American Airlines responded by stating that they take all claims of discrimination seriously and are investigating the matter.
Three black men filed a lawsuit against American Airlines for racial discrimination.
Every black man on the flight was removed, according to the lawsuit.
American Airlines had previously faced a travel advisory from NAACP due to discrimination allegations in 2017.
Accuracy
Three black men were removed from a flight due to alleged body odor complaints.
At least one airline representative agreed with the plaintiffs that they had been singled out because of their race.
Deception
(50%)
The author makes editorializing statements by using the words 'racial discrimination' and 'clearly this was racial discrimination'. These statements are not facts but rather the author's opinion. The article also uses selective reporting by only mentioning details that support the author's position, such as the fact that all three black men were removed from the flight, while ignoring any potential context or explanations for why this may have happened.
The act of returning to their seats after the unwarranted delay, navigating past the predominantly white passengers, several of whom eyed them with anger and undue suspicion, compounded their humiliation.
The men say that every black man on the flight was removed
Fallacies
(100%)
None Found At Time Of
Publication
Bias
(95%)
The author uses the term 'racial discrimination' multiple times without providing any evidence other than the claims made by the plaintiffs. This is an example of bias through language that depicts one side as extreme or unreasonable.
"Clearly this was racial discrimination."
"The act of returning to their seats after the unwarranted delay, navigating past the predominantly white passengers, several of whom eyed them with anger and undue suspicion, compounded their humiliation."
Three Black men filed a lawsuit against American Airlines for racial discrimination.
The incident occurred on a flight from Phoenix, Arizona, to New York, New York on 5 January.
American representatives asked the men to leave the plane without explanation before takeoff.
Five other Black male passengers were also asked to leave the plane.
Accuracy
At least five Black male passengers were removed from the plane.
Deception
(10%)
The article reports on a lawsuit alleging racial discrimination by American Airlines against three Black men. The author quotes the plaintiffs' statements and the airline's response without providing any analysis or context. This selective reporting creates an incomplete picture of the situation and may manipulate readers' emotions by presenting only one side of the story.
The men were eventually allowed to reboard the flight after an American representative told them that there were no longer any flights that evening to rebook them on.
After the men were removed from the plane, they were allegedly told by an American representative that they would not be allowed to fly on the flight and would have to rebook their trip.
Five other Black male passengers were also asked to leave the plane.
The lawsuit follows a flight the men took on 5 January from Phoenix, Arizona, to New York, New York.
Fallacies
(85%)
The author presents a case of alleged racial discrimination against three Black men by American Airlines. However, the article contains inflammatory rhetoric and appeals to authority which are fallacies. The author uses inflammatory language in phrases like 'singled us out for being Black', 'embarrassed us', and 'humiliated us'. Additionally, there is an appeal to authority when quoting the American Airlines' response that they take all claims of discrimination seriously and are investigating the matter. The score is not lower due to these fallacies being minor in comparison to other potential issues such as formal logical fallacies or dichotomous depictions.
What happened to us was wrong. Imagine a flight attendant ordering every white person off a plane because of a complaint about one white person. That would never happen. But that is what happened to us.
There is no explanation other than the color of our skin. American Airlines singled us out for being Black, embarrassed us, and humiliated us. Clearly, this was discrimination.
Bias
(80%)
The author does not directly make any biased assertions in the article. However, she does quote the plaintiffs making biased statements towards American Airlines and their treatment. The author also mentions that all Black male passengers were asked to leave the plane without explanation, which could be seen as implying bias on the part of American Airlines.
As the plaintiffs began to comply with the directive to deplane, they noticed that the only passengers who were being ordered off the plane were Black men, and it appeared that every Black man on the flight was being removed.
There is no explanation other than the color of our skin. American Airlines singled us out for being Black, embarrassed us, and humiliated us. Clearly, this was discrimination.
What happened to us was wrong. Imagine a flight attendant ordering every white person off a plane because of a complaint about one white person. That would never happen. But that is what happened to us.
Three passengers are suing American Airlines after alleging employees removed a total of eight Black men from a flight due to a complaint about 'offensive body odor' that did not actually exist for any of the passengers.
At least one airline representative agreed with the plaintiffs that they had been singled out because of their race.
The lawsuit also cites other recent incidents where passengers have alleged discrimination by American Airlines and references a 2017 NAACP travel advisory urging members not to fly on the airline.
Accuracy
Three passengers are suing American Airlines after alleging employees removed a total of eight Black men from a flight due to a complaint about offensive body odor.
Plaintiffs Alvin Jackson, Emmanuel Jean Joseph and Xavier Veal were removed from American Flight 832 from Phoenix to JFK without valid reason based on their race.
American Airlines representatives ordered all Black male passengers off the plane before takeoff.
Deception
(30%)
The article contains selective reporting as it only reports details that support the author's position of racial discrimination without mentioning any potential context or alternative explanations. The authors also make editorializing statements such as 'It’s almost inconceivable to come up with an explanation for that other than the color of their skin.' and 'We were discriminated against. The entire situation was racist.' which are not facts but opinions.
We were discriminated against. The entire situation was racist.
The lawsuit claims that American Airlines removed eight Black men from the plane allegedly over a complaint about ‘offensive body odor.’
It’s almost inconceivable to come up with an explanation for that other than the color of their skin.
Fallacies
(85%)
The article contains an appeal to authority fallacy when it states 'CBS Legal Analyst Rikki Klieman believes the question at trial is about American Airlines’ protocols and how it handled the employees after the incident.' This statement implies that Rikki Klieman's belief is factual, but it is not. Additionally, there are dichotomous depictions in the article when it states 'Everybody staring at me, me and all the other Black people on the plane were just taken off.' and 'We were discriminated against. The entire situation was racist.' These statements present a black-and-white view of the situation without providing any evidence to support these assertions.
]CBS Legal Analyst Rikki Klieman believes the question at trial is about American Airlines’ protocols and how it handled the employees after the incident.[
Everybody staring at me, me and all the other Black people on the plane were just taken off.
We were discriminated against. The entire situation was racist.
Bias
(80%)
The article mentions that the three plaintiffs were the only Black passengers on the flight and that they were removed due to a complaint about body odor. The author also quotes one of the plaintiffs as saying 'We were discriminated against. The entire situation was racist.' These statements suggest religious or racial bias.
The three plaintiffs were the only Black passengers on the flight.
We were discriminated against. The entire situation was racist.
Three Black men are suing American Airlines for racial discrimination after being removed from a flight due to an alleged 'offensive body odor' complaint.
Passengers were told a body odor complaint had prompted their removal, but none of the plaintiffs had offensive body odor.
At least one airline representative agreed with the plaintiffs that they had been singled out because of their race.
The men experienced feelings of embarrassment, humiliation, anxiety, anger, and distress during and after the incident.
Accuracy
Three Black men were removed from the flight without valid reason based on their race.
All Black male passengers were ordered off the plane before takeoff.
None of the plaintiffs had offensive body odor but were still removed due to a body odor complaint.
Deception
(30%)
The article contains selective reporting as the author only reports details that support the allegations of racial discrimination by the plaintiffs. The author does not provide any context or information about other passengers on the flight or why only Black male passengers were asked to leave. The article also contains emotional manipulation as it describes the experience as 'traumatic, upsetting, scary, humiliating, and degrading' for the plaintiffs.
When the passengers demanded some sort of reasoning after deplaning, Representatives of American told them that they were ordered off the plane because of a complaint about body odor.
Three Black men are suing American Airlines... due to a complaint about body odor.
The Black male passengers had to reboard the plane and endure the stares of the largely white passengers who viewed them as the cause of the substantial delay.
Fallacies
(100%)
None Found At Time Of
Publication
Bias
(0%)
The author uses language that depicts the Black male passengers as being unfairly targeted and humiliated based on their race. She also quotes one of the passengers expressing his belief that he was treated poorly 'just because of the color of [his] skin'. These examples demonstrate racial bias.
If I have this strange odor, how are you rebooking me on a different flight? Are you going to ask me to take a bath? Are you going to shower me?
It might take a while for me to fly again. Because imagine if the plane took off, and we were 1000 2000 feet in the air, and it was me against everyone else. Black people that every day, usually it’s me against the world.
It’s very much changed the way I travel, and that’s a big issue traveling while Black.
The incident did not just inflict immediate distress; it also resurfaced and intensified emotional trauma from past encounters with racism and discrimination.
Three Black men are suing American Airlines, claiming they were racially targeted during a flight in January when all Black male passengers were allegedly kicked off the flight due to an alleged 'offensive body odor'.
