RUTHFULLY YOURS

The oddest thing happened after it came to light that the Hamas-linked Associated Press had hired a serial liar and pro-jihad activist, a young woman named Emily Wilder: AP fired her. As you might expect, because this isn’t the way things are supposed to work, as far as the establishment media is concerned, “journalists” are outraged, and circling the wagons. One of their own has taken the fall for a sinister and corrupt organization, and the other cogs in the machine aren’t going to stand for it.

Emily Wilder herself claimed that the firing was due to her activities as a pro-jihad activist at Stanford University, from which she graduated last year, and asserted that she had fallen victim to “cancel culture”: “There’s no question I was just canceled,” she said in a fawning SF Gate interview that was trending on Twitter for a couple of days. The day after it was published, even AP itself got into the act, writing about the controversy as if it concerned some other organization altogether, and defending Wilder.

Meanwhile, Leftists on Twitter crowed about the supposed inconsistency of foes of Left-fascism opposing “cancel culture” and then being happy that a Left-fascist was canceled. One put it crisply: “Coulda sworn you creeps were against cancel culture.”

There are numerous useful lessons that can be drawn from this ugly little episode. Here are a few of them:

1. AP fired Wilder to save face after being exposed sharing an office building with Hamas in Gaza, which meant either that they were aware of Hamas’ activities and covered for the terror group, or didn’t know Hamas was there and are therefore the worst reporters in the world.

2. AP did not fire Wilder because she is pro-jihad. It is unlikely that there are any AP reporters who are not pro-jihad. AP fired Wilder because her views came out in a way that showed up their claims to be a news organization.

3. Emily Wilder’s views do not stand out among establishment media journalists. 99.9% or more of all establishment media journalists think exactly the same way Emily Wilder does. They all got their programming and indoctrination in the same Leftist recruitment and training centers that are known as our nation’s universities. Emily Wilder was fired because AP was already embarrassed about its Hamas office building and didn’t want more embarrassment of this kind. If the Stanford College Republicans had never called attention to Wilder’s job with AP, she would still be there.

4. AP may rehire Wilder once this blows over, as evidenced by the fact that they’re already defending her.

5. “Cancel culture” usually refers to people losing jobs or at least being publicly shamed over things they said years ago, often when they were teenagers. The statements in question are usually interpreted in the most negative manner possible, when such an interpretation is not required by the facts. Usually they’re statements that tend to dissent from the Leftist agenda. This is a fascist movement against the freedom of speech, and should always be opposed.
6. AP’s firing of Wilder is not an example of cancel culture. Wilder was not fired for her activities at Stanford, but for views she holds now, and has made abundantly clear that she holds now. AP pretends to be a news organization. Emily Wilder is, as noted above, a proven liar, a vicious ideologue, and a supporter of jihad. To have such a person working for an organization that claims to report the news in an evenhanded manner makes that organization look bad. Yes, all their other reporters think the same way, but they’re more subtle about it.
7. To claim that firing Wilder is an indication of how only the Israeli side is told in the establishment media is paranoid Leftist fantasy and gaslighting. In reality, AP and other establishment organs only tell the “Palestinian” side. If the Jews control the media, as Wilder suggests when she complains about “the selective enforcement of cancel culture — specifically over the issue of Israel and Palestine — it’s always the same side,” they do a very poor job of it, as media outlets are virtually unanimous in retailing jihadist propaganda (see here from 2009, and here from 2021, just to show you that nothing has changed in all those years).

Emily Wilder was fired because she inadvertently exposed AP for what it is. She may now be rehired, or hired by some other prestigious “news organization,” because we know what she is, and what they are.

Robert Spencer is the director of Jihad Watch and a Shillman Fellow at the David Horowitz Freedom Center. He is author of 21 books including many bestsellers, such as The Politically Incorrect Guide to Islam (and the Crusades), The Truth About Muhammad and The History of Jihad. His latest book is Did Muhammad Exist?: An Inquiry into Islam’s Obscure Origins―Revised and Expanded Edition. Follow him on Twitter here. Like him on Facebook here.