Media Spin: KTLA Gets Dragged For Headline About Store Worker Who "Died" Confronting Shoplifters

Posted • April 10, 2025: The media are masters at using the passive voice in headlines to hide the actual story behind semantics. We've seen it whenever a terrorist drives a vehicle into a crowd of innocents: they'll say some variation of 'car plows into crowd' as if there are sentient vehicles targeting pedestrians. Here's another terrible headline to add to the pile, courtesy KTLA: KTLA @KTLA: “A retail worker died Wednesday after he confronted a group of shoplifters in South El Monte, authorities said.” https://pbs.twimg.com/media/GoIN96TX0AAq2Je?format=png&name=900x900 —— Readers added context: He died because the shoplifters hit him in the head, knocked him to the ground, and ran over him with their getaway vehicle. —— 'Died' how, KTLA? Why'd you leave that part out, knowing most people don't read past the headline (or the post)? We all know why.

They do admit why the man died in the body of the article, of course. They write: “A man was killed Wednesday after he confronted a group of shoplifters in the parking lot of a South El Monte shopping center. Around 12:20 p.m., Kourosh “Steve” Yaghoubi, 60, was helping at his brother’s shop, Giant Discount on the 2000 block of Durfee Avenue, when a group of people entered the store and stole a box of disposable masks. Yaghoubi chased after the shoplifters, who, according to witnesses, attacked him, hitting him in the head and knocking him to the ground. The suspects’ getaway vehicle then ran over him as he lie defenseless in the middle of the parking lot, the victim’s family said.” —— Pathetic. X users took KTLA to task for this shameful post. —— Just died? Like spontaneously? That's weird. So weird. —— So, Heart Attack? Natural Causes? Liver Failure? Brain Freeze? Or did the Shoplifters do something, maybe, to help him shuffle from this mortal coil?

We're not supposed to ask those questions. Those poor shoplifters were just trying to get bread to feed their families, right, AOC? —— “Died.” They murdered him. Why are avoiding that phrasing? And their demographic? https://pbs.twimg.com/media/GoIrl1lWwAAtAbH?format=jpg&name=small —— Doesn't fit the narrative, and highlights California's ongoing shoplifting crime problem. - No description of the suspect. - Use of passive language — “worker died.” - “group of shoplifters.” Based on the information in this headline, there is a 98.76% chance that the suspects are black/brown and the victim is white/asian. Yep. KTLA is such a joke. Just like the rest of the media. A big joke. (…)

• More at: Twitchy - MEDIA SPIN: KTLA Gets DRAGGED for Headline About Store Worker Who 'Died' Confronting Shoplifters
https://twitchy.com/amy-curtis/2025/04/10/ktla-gets-dragged-for-headline-about-store-worker-who-died-after-confronting-shoplifters-n2411209
KTLA 5 Los Angeles: Man dies after confronting shoplifters in L.A. parking lot
https://ktla.com/news/local-news/store-owner-dies-after-confronting-shoplifters-in-parking-lot-of-l-a-area-shopping-center/