US publication faces ire for puzzle bearing Nazi symbol on day of Jewish festival

Renowned US publication New York Times' crossword puzzle that was published in the paper on December 18 has stoked controversy. The media house is now facing backlash as the puzzle shares resemblance to 'Hakenkreuz', the hooked cross which was the symbol of Adolf Hitler's National Socialist German Workers' Party or the Nazi party.

The resemblance is infuriating to many for another reason too; Jewish festival of Hanukkah, which started on the same day when the puzzle was published.

Internet furious over NYT's puzzle

The Nazi symbol in the crossword puzzle has made internet users furious as many are blaming NYT of deliberately trying to create an uproar over the week-long festival that started on December 18. "Today is the first day of Hanukkah and this is how @nytimes celebrates (sic)", wrote one user on Twitter. 

"If I worked for the New York Times I'd probably double check that the crossword appearing on the first day of Hanukkah didn't look exactly like a swastika. But I suppose the NYT staff were busy", wrote another.

Donald Trump Jr., son of 45th US President Donald Trump also shared a clipping of the puzzle on his Twitter and called out the publication. 

"Disgusting! Only the New York Times would get Chanukah going with this is the crossword puzzle. Imagine what they would do to someone who did this and was not ideologically aligned with them? I’ll give them the same benefit of the doubt they would give those people… EXACTLY ZERO (sic)", he tweeted.

Hundreds of other users tried to connect the dots of the symbol appearing on the first day of the Jewish festival and demanded an answer from the publication.

Notably, this is not the first time when such a controversy surrounded the publication as it faced ire in 2014 and 2017 over a similar incident, following which it clarified saying it was not a Nazi symbol.