AP agency sorry for claim 'the French' is a 'dehumanising' phrase

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US press agency Associated Press (AP) has apologised for its tweeted stylebook diktat that the phrase 'the French', like all generic labels for groups of people who share a single common trait, was 'dehumanizing' and implied 'a monolith rather than diverse individuals', prompting the French embassy in Washington to joke it should possibly change its name to 'the Embassy of Frenchness'.   

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The Associated Press Stylebook, considered one of the most reliable guides to correct use of the English language for journalists, has apologised after producing a list of terms it thought could be dehumanising that included “the French”, reports The Guardian.