X is the new Y: a favorite journalist crutch

The Netflix series “Orange Is the New Black” will end next year with its seventh season. But one thing that won’t end is the use of the expression “X is the new Y.” You know, statements such as “sitting is the new cancer.”
What follows are just a few examples online from the last few weeks. Journalists can’t resist using them.

Air pollution is the new tobacco (The Guardian; Oct. 27, 2018)

Sneaker Rat is the new Pizza Rat (The Cut; Oct. 23, 2018)

Barra is the new salmon (The Guardian; Oct. 23, 2018)

Data is the new oil (Salon; Nov. 4, 2018)

In Europe, ‘hate speech’ is the new blasphemy (American Greatness; Nov. 1, 2018)

Amazon is the new Apple (The Motley Fool; Oct. 16, 2018)

Abundance is the new sustainability (Forbes, Nov. 4, 2018)

Celebrities knocking on doors is the new fancy fund-raiser (Vogue; Oct. 31, 2018)

Photo: Scene from “Orange Is the New Black” (Netflix)