In April 2025, internet users shared a screenshot that appeared to show a New York Post headline that used an expletive to describe various European women leaders. The headline in the screenshot was, "Meet the insufferable b****** that are destroying Europe."
The image that appeared below the headline in the screenshot showed five women, whom a caption identified as President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen, Moldovan President Maia Sandu, former Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas, German Federal Minister for Foreign Affairs Annalena Baerbock, and former Finnish Prime Minister Sanna Marin.
Snopes readers searched our site for information about the authenticity of the screenshot, which spread online in posts on social media platforms including Facebook and X. One caption read, "That's an accurate headline."
(Screenshot via X)
However, the screenshot did not show an authentic New York Post headline. The featured image in the screenshot originally accompanied a real New York Post article that at the time of this writing had a completely different headline, and there was no evidence the headline of the real article ever contained the language in the screenshot. Rather, some individual — whom we have not identified — misleadingly edited a screenshot of the article, replacing the real headline with the fake one containing the expletive.
As a result, we've rated the screenshot fake.
None of the posts sharing the screenshot provided a link to the actual article, further indicating that the headline in it was not authentic.
The New York Post published the real article (archived), by Iulia Sabina-Joja, on Oct. 13, 2022, with a headline reading, "Meet the tough women leaders taking on Vladimir Putin," as can be seen in the image below. Numerous archived versions of the article showed the same headline.
(Screenshot via The New York Post)
The article described how the five European women leaders in the article's featured image supported Ukraine following Russia's invasion of the country in February 2022. It began:
It's striking, the large number of brave women who are leading the protests against Iran's violent and vicious theocratic regime. It's likewise notable that young women lead the Ukrainian organization just awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. Arguably less noticed yet equally important: Across Europe, it's women who are transcending political and geographic boundaries to call for an end to Russia's brutal aggression.
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