All three men were removed from the plane without any direct accusation of offensive body odor.
Every Black man on the flight was removed, and none of them knew each other beforehand or were seated together.
The body odor complaint came from a White male flight attendant. The men were initially told they would be rebooked on other flights but found no available services that night.
The incident occurred on American Airlines Flight 832 from Phoenix to New York in January 2024.
Three Black men, Alvin Jackson, Emmanuel Jean Joseph, and Xavier Veal, filed a lawsuit against American Airlines for alleged racial discrimination.
Three Black men, Alvin Jackson, Emmanuel Jean Joseph, and Xavier Veal, have filed a lawsuit against American Airlines for alleged racial discrimination after being removed from a flight due to unsubstantiated body odor complaints.
The incident occurred on American Airlines Flight 832 from Phoenix to New York in January 2024. According to the lawsuit, all three men were removed from the plane without any direct accusation of offensive body odor.
The complaint alleges that every Black man on the flight was removed, and none of them knew each other beforehand or were seated together.
The body odor complaint came from a White male flight attendant. The men were initially told they would be rebooked on other flights but found no available services that night.
One of the plaintiffs compared the experience to Rosa Parks being forced to move to the back of an Alabama bus in 1955 due to racial discrimination.
American Airlines is currently investigating the matter, and their teams are looking into claims that do not align with their core values or purpose of caring for people. The lawsuit seeks unspecified damages for emotional distress and humiliation experienced by the plaintiffs.
Three black men filed a racial discrimination lawsuit against American Airlines
Every black man on the flight was removed according to the plaintiffs
American Airlines tried to re-book the men on other flights but there were no services available that night
One of the plaintiffs compared the experience to Rosa Parks being forced to move to the back of an Alabama bus in 1955 due to racial discrimination
Accuracy
Three black men were removed from a flight due to a complaint about body odour
An American Airlines representative told them they would not be allowed to fly on Flight 832 and needed to be rebooked.
The lawsuit seeks unspecified damages for trauma endured by the men
Deception
(5%)
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 article also includes emotional manipulation through the use of phrases like 'humiliation', 'embarrassment', and 'trauma'. Additionally, there is a lie by omission as the article fails to mention that there were other passengers removed from the flight besides the three black men.
Throughout the flight - from the moment of their reboarding, in each interaction with the white male flight attendant, and continuing until landing - Plaintiffs experienced profound feelings of embarrassment, humiliation, anxiety, anger, and distress.
One of the men suing, Mr Joseph, told the BBC that the ‘alienating’ experience reminded him of Civil Rights hero Rosa Parks being forced to move to the back of an Alabama bus in 1955 due to state-sanctioned racial discrimination.
The men say that every Black man on the flight was being removed.
Fallacies
(85%)
The author uses inflammatory rhetoric by quoting the men's statement that 'American Airlines singled us out for being Black, embarrassed us, and humiliated us.' This is an appeal to emotion and a dichotomous depiction of American Airlines as solely discriminatory. The author also quotes the men's allegation that 'every Black man on the flight was being removed,' which could be an example of hasty generalization if it is not proven true. However, since the article does not provide enough information to determine the truthfulness of this claim or any other specific instances of discrimination, a definitive score cannot be given.
American Airlines singled us out for being Black, embarrassed us, and humiliated us.
every Black man on the flight was being removed
Bias
(80%)
The author uses the term 'racial discrimination' multiple times without providing any evidence other than the claims made by the plaintiffs. The article does not provide any information about the race of the flight attendant or other passengers involved in this incident.
]American Airlines singled us out for being Black, embarrassed us, and humiliated us[.
Three Black men are suing American Airlines for discrimination and unfair removal from Flight 832 from Phoenix to New York.
Susan Huhta, partner at Outten & Golden and attorney for the plaintiffs, stated that American Airlines racially profiled them.
Accuracy
No Contradictions at Time
Of
Publication
Deception
(0%)
The article contains several examples of deception: selective reporting, emotional manipulation, and sensationalism. The author only reports details that support the plaintiffs' position and omits important context about the incident. For example, the article does not mention that there were also white passengers on the plane who were not removed despite reportedly having body odor issues. This is a lie by omission. Additionally, the author uses emotional language to manipulate readers' emotions and sensationalize the story by implying that American Airlines singled out Black passengers without providing any evidence to support this claim.
Three Black men are suing American Airlines, alleging discrimination and unfair removal from a plane after a white flight attendant complained about an unidentified passenger’s body odor.
If American Airlines received a complaint about a Black male passenger with offensive body odor but could not verify the complaint, the solution should not have been to eject eight separate Black men from the plane.
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.
Fallacies
(80%)
The author makes an appeal to emotion by using inflammatory language such as 'discrimination', 'humiliation', and 'embarrassment' without providing any concrete evidence of these claims. The author also uses dichotomous depiction by contrasting the treatment of Black passengers with a hypothetical scenario involving white passengers, which is not directly related to the incident at hand.
>The plaintiffs demanded an explanation for their removal, as it seemed that every Black man on the flight was being asked to leave. <
>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.<
Bias
(0%)
The author, De'Anthony Taylor, uses language that depicts the removal of the Black men from the plane as unjust and discriminatory without providing any evidence other than their race. He also quotes one of the plaintiffs making a statement about what would have happened if every white person was asked to leave instead of justifying why this incident constitutes discrimination.
This complaint follows other reported incidents of American Airlines mistreating Black travelers who are simply trying to reach their destinations
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
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.
The lawsuit alleges that an American Airlines employee indicated that the complaint about body odor came from a 'white male flight attendant.'
None of the plaintiffs were directly accused of having offensive body odor, but all were removed from the flight due to this false complaint.
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'.
Every black man on the flight was removed according to the plaintiffs.
Plaintiffs claim they were not accused of having offensive body odor, but American Airlines representative told them they would not be allowed to fly on Flight 832 and needed to be rebooked.
Deception
(100%)
None Found At Time Of
Publication
Fallacies
(85%)
The article contains an appeal to authority fallacy when it quotes CBS legal analyst Rikki Klieman's opinion on the trial being about American Airlines' protocols and how it handled the employees after the incident. The article also contains inflammatory rhetoric when quoting Xavier Veal stating 'We were discriminated against. The entire situation was racist.'
"It's almost inconceivable to come up with an explanation for that other than the color of their skin,"
"We were discriminated against. The entire situation was racist,#
Bias
(80%)
The article reports on a lawsuit filed by three Black men against American Airlines for alleged racial discrimination. The article states that the men were removed from the flight due to a complaint about body odor, but they allege that they were the only Black passengers on the flight and no one had complained about their odor during their previous flight. The author also quotes one of the plaintiffs as saying that he believed race was a factor in their removal. While there is no direct evidence presented in the article to definitively prove racial bias, the circumstances described suggest a disproportionate number of quotations reflecting a specific position (that of racial discrimination) and use of language that depicts one side as extreme or unreasonable (the airline's alleged removal of only Black men based on a complaint about body odor).
Jean Joseph told CBS News senior transportation correspondent Kris Van Cleave that as he gathered his belongings and walked to the jet bridge, he noticed that only Black men were being removed from the flight.
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.
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.
Three Black men have filed a lawsuit against American Airlines, alleging they were victims of discrimination
None of the suing passengers had offensive body odor and none were directly accused of an offense
Accuracy
No Contradictions at Time
Of
Publication
Deception
(30%)
The article reports on a lawsuit filed against American Airlines for allegedly removing eight Black men from a flight without valid reason and based solely on their race. The author quotes the plaintiffs' claims that they were not told they had body odor, yet the reason given for their removal was someone complaining about body odor. This is an example of selective reporting, as only details that support the author's position (the alleged racial discrimination) are reported, while contradictory information (the lack of communication about body odor to the passengers) is omitted. The article also uses emotional manipulation by describing the men's experience as 'traumatic, upsetting, scary, humiliating, and degrading.'
Once all eight men were off the plane, they eventually discovered the reason behind their removal – an employee told the men someone on the plane complained about body odor. Jackson, Joseph and Veal say they were not told they had body odor.
In fact, it appeared to Plaintiffs that American had ordered all of the Black male passengers on Flight 832 off the plane.
Three Black men have filed a lawsuit against American Airlines alleging they were victims of ‘blatant and egregious racial discrimination’ after being removed from a flight.
Fallacies
(85%)
The author makes an appeal to authority by quoting the plaintiffs' allegations of racial discrimination without providing any evidence or context to support this claim. The author also uses inflammatory rhetoric by describing the removal of the men as 'blatant and egregious racial discrimination' without providing any evidence to support this characterization.
“Three Black men have filed a lawsuit against American Airlines alleging they were victims of “blatant and egregious racial discrimination” after being removed from a flight.”
“Plaintiffs then had to reboard the plane and endure the stares of the largely white passengers who viewed them as the cause of the substantial delay. They suffered during the entire flight home, and the entire incident was traumatic, upsetting, scary, humiliating, and degrading.”
Bias
(75%)
The author uses language that depicts the removal of the Black men as 'blatant and egregious racial discrimination' without providing any evidence other than the statements of the plaintiffs. The author also quotes one of the plaintiffs saying 'There is no explanation other than the color of our skin ... clearly, this was discrimination.' This language implies that there is no possibility that there could be any other reason for the men being removed from the plane, and it assumes that their removal was based solely on their race.
Plaintiffs then had to reboard the plane and endure the stares of the largely white passengers who viewed them as the cause of the substantial delay. They suffered during the entire flight home, and the entire incident was traumatic, upsetting, scary, humiliating, and degrading.
There is no explanation other than the color of our skin ... clearly, this was discrimination.
Three Black men have filed a lawsuit against American Airlines alleging they were victims of ‘blatant and egregious racial discrimination’ after being removed from a flight.
Three Black men sued American Airlines in federal court for alleged race discrimination after being removed from a plane due to body odor complaints.
The incident occurred on a flight from Phoenix to New York in January 2024.
All eight booted passengers were Black men, and none of them knew each other before the flight or were sitting together.
None of the suing passengers had offensive body odor and none were directly accused of an offense.
The body odor complaint came from a White male flight attendant.
Accuracy
No Contradictions at Time
Of
Publication
Deception
(100%)
None Found At Time Of
Publication
Fallacies
(85%)
The author makes an appeal to authority by stating that the body odor complaint came from a White male flight attendant. This is a fallacy because it assumes that the race of the person making the complaint automatically makes their claim valid or true.
]It is near impossible to imagine that American would ever treat white customers in a similar manner[.
The body odor complaint came from a White male flight attendant.
Bias
(10%)
The author uses language that depicts the American Airlines employees as targeting and discriminating against Black men based on their race. The author also quotes one of the passengers expressing shock and disbelief at being removed from the plane along with other Black men.
It hit them like a ton of bricks.
We’re walking through the aisle of shame, if you will.
Y all just took like eight Black people off the plane.
