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MEDIA

Remembering the Worst Media Misses of 2023 By Brittany Bernstein

https://www.nationalreview.com/news/remembering-the-worst-media-misses-of-2023/

Media Drop the Ball on Israel–Hamas War –- Again and Again

The New York Times published an editor’s note acknowledging that its editors “should have taken more care with the initial presentation” of the coverage of an explosion outside a Gaza hospital; the paper had been quick to run with the Hamas-backed Gaza Health Ministry’s claims that the blast was caused by an Israeli air strike that killed hundreds.

President Biden has since made clear that Israel was not to blame for the blast, which U.S. officials say killed between 100 and 300 people. The Israel Defense Forces have said the explosion was caused by a rocket misfire launched by Islamic Jihad, a conclusion that’s since been confirmed by video analyses conducted by the Associated Press, the Wall Street Journal, and CNN.

“The Times’s initial accounts attributed the claim of Israeli responsibility to Palestinian officials, and noted that the Israeli military said it was investigating the blast. However, the early versions of the coverage — and the prominence it received in a headline, news alert and social media channels — relied too heavily on claims by Hamas, and did not make clear that those claims could not immediately be verified. The report left readers with an incorrect impression about what was known and how credible the account was,” the editor’s note said.

The editor’s note concluded: “Given the sensitive nature of the news during a widening conflict, and the prominent promotion it received, Times editors should have taken more care with the initial presentation, and been more explicit about what information could be verified. Newsroom leaders continue to examine procedures around the biggest breaking news events — including for the use of the largest headlines in the digital report — to determine what additional safeguards may be warranted.”

But when other news outlets issued a mea culpa for their overreliance on the Hamas-controlled Gaza Health Ministry in reporting on the al-Ahli Arab hospital blast, the Washington Post doubled down and defended its decision to uncritically parrot the agency’s false claims that an Israeli airstrike hit a hospital, killing 500 civilians.

The Post then led its site with the health ministry’s claim that the Gaza death toll in the Israel–Hamas war has surpassed 10,000.

“Gaza Health Ministry: Death toll in Gaza surpasses 10,000 after four weeks of war,” a headline at the top of the site read.

The headline and underlying report ignore the fact that the health ministry is run by Hamas, but the paper’s editors did include a cursory disclaimer alongside the article to explain “Where we get our data about the Israel-Gaza war.”

“When we’re reporting on issues such as the death toll in the Israel-Gaza war, we use information provided from the Gaza Health Ministry (an agency of the Hamas-controlled government), the Israeli government, the United Nations, the World Health Organization, the U.S. State Department and other international agencies,” the disclaimer read in part.

The Military’s Phantom ‘Extremists’ An independent study puts to rest another false media narrative.

https://www.wsj.com/articles/military-extremists-report-institute-for-defense-analyses-pentagon-lloyd-austin-97619f4d?mod=opinion_lead_pos2

Good news: The U.S. military isn’t packed with violent extremists. That’s the gist of a new report commissioned by the Pentagon in 2021 and released quietly with little notice in December. The result won’t surprise Americans who have spent time in uniform, but it should calm the media frenzy about right-wing radicals in the armed forces.

After reports that some service members participated in the Jan. 6 riot, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin ordered an independent study to get “greater fidelity” on extremism in the ranks. The think tank tasked with the report, the Institute for Defense Analyses (IDA), “found no evidence that the number of violent extremists in the military is disproportionate” to U.S. society. A review of Pentagon data suggested “fewer than 100 substantiated cases per year of extremist activity by members of the military in recent years,” the report says.

That figure could include a range of conduct and ideological bent, not simply the white supremacy floated in the press. Take court martials. Researchers found that “the prevalence of extremist and gang-related activity that are reflected in court-martial opinions is limited to fewer than 20 cases” since 2012. Gang activity isn’t typically political and, excluding those cases, the number falls to one a year.

One useful conclusion is that the military doesn’t need a new section of the Uniform Code of Military Justice to punish what few “extremist” criminal cases exist. Researchers note that commanders can rely on Article 116 (riot or breach of peace); Article 88 (contempt toward officials); Article 109 (destruction or damage to property); Article 115 (communication of threats), among others such as assault.

Hitler Wasn’t Available: New York Times Runs Article by Hamas Official Robert Spencer

https://pjmedia.com/robert-spencer/2023/12/25/hitler-wasnt-available-new-york-times-runs-article-by-hamas-official-n4925006

The New York Times wants you to weep for the people of Gaza, and for what Hamas’ massacre of 1,200 Israelis on Oct. 7, which Gazans cheered in large numbers, has brought upon them. In service of that goal, on Christmas Eve the Paper of Record ran a weepy piece by a prominent Gazan, someone who has witnessed the Israeli incursion firsthand. Did the Times give this plumb editorial space to a “moderate” Gazan, a known foe of the Hamas regime, one of those “innocent Palestinians” who have nothing, nothing whatsoever, to do with Hamas? Uh, not quite.

“I Am Gaza City’s Mayor. Our Lives and Culture Are in Rubble,” was written by Yahya R. Sarraj and published in the Times on Sunday. The Times identifies the author in terms that make him sound like an airy, inoffensive intellectual: “Dr. Sarraj is the mayor of Gaza City and a former rector of the University College of Applied Sciences there. He wrote from Gaza City.” 

Yahya R. Sarraj, you see, is no terrorist, he’s a mild-mannered professor. But what the Times doesn’t bother to remind its hapless readers about is the fact that Hamas controls Gaza, and no one can hold the position of being mayor of the largest city in the Gaza Strip without being either an active Hamas member or entirely sympathetic with the terror group’s outlook and goals. Sarraj even alludes to this matter-of-factly in his piece, writing: “One of my major goals after the Hamas administration appointed me mayor in 2019 was to improve the city’s seafront and foster the opening of small businesses along it to create jobs.”

Sarraj spends the bulk of his article doing his best to move the reader to rage against Israel. “As a teenager in the 1980s,” he says, “I watched the construction of the intricately designed Rashad al-Shawa Cultural Center in Gaza City, named after one of Gaza’s greatest public figures, and its theater, grand hall, public library, printing press and cultural salon.” 

Fight This Information War with KISSes By J.B. Shurk

https://www.americanthinker.com/articles/2023/12/fight_this_information_war_with_kisses.html

I believe in the KISS principle: keep it simple, stupid.  I do my best to boil events down to their essential truths and then hammer those truths again and again.  Repetition is my weapon of choice.

The reason I stick to this strategy has nothing to do with who is reading.  It has to do with the nature of the war we are already fighting.  Never before in human history have people been so bombarded by lies and propaganda from their own political leaders.  The information warfare that the U.S. government and other Western nations use against their own peoples is meant to conquer minds with direct programming instead of directed bullets.

How do you counter-program people who have been indoctrinated for years, if not decades?  You KISS them, so that they’ll KISS others, and a steady flow of simple truths can begin to crack the glass of our invisible cage.  The whole thing sounds quite dirty and promiscuous, but constantly reminding ourselves what is actually true in a blizzard of lies is an admirable pursuit.  Crafty French diplomat Talleyrand, who managed to keep his head through both the French Revolution and the reign of Napoleon, observed, “Speech was given to man to conceal his thoughts.”  The Marxist globalists who use censorship and propaganda as shield and sword are Talleyrand’s ardent disciples.

The size of the information war being conducted against us is astounding, and because the formerly free press has been conquered and conditioned to support the State, news outlets willing to report the truth are few.  When the corporate news cartel controls 95% of the information flow and the Department of Homeland Security is effectively censoring the remaining 5%, it becomes essential for those of us who see this war as it really is to sound a little like broken records.  Using labels such as “Deep State,” “Uniparty,” “Marxist globalists,” “ruling class,” and “elites” is a form of subversive branding meant to align us against a common enemy.  “Make American Great Again” is more than a jingle or campaign slogan; it is an attempt to cut through artificial political divisions so that abused citizens can find common purpose.  Rejecting “woke” dogma, “political correctness,” and other Marxist distortions of truth is a form of mental armor that defends against the government’s unabating propaganda.  Repetition of simple truths must meet the repetition of outrageous lies head-on.

The Media’s Deafening Silence About American Hostages

https://issuesinsights.com/2023/12/14/the-deafening-media-silence-about-americans-held-hostage-by-hamas/

On Monday, the White House held a Hanukkah reception. Among those not invited: American families who have relatives currently being held hostage by Hamas.

CNN reported that: “Ruby Chen, whose son Itay is a reservist missing since the militant group’s October 7 attacks on Israel, said a number of the families of American hostages were in Washington, D.C., this week, and had reached out to the White House asking to attend the reception but were not invited. A White House spokesperson declined to comment.”

The White House then scrambled to have these families meet President Joe Biden on Wednesday.

Biden isn’t the only one who doesn’t seem to care much about these hostages. The press has been weirdly quiet about their plight and seems content to wait for Biden to “negotiate” their release. If they’re even still alive.

Who are these hostages? Who are the families? What are they going through? It’s possible there have been news reports telling the world about the seven American men and possibly one American woman who are being held captive by these murdering, butchering, raping terrorist thugs. But we couldn’t find any. Even Biden’s unbelievable invitation foul-up was given ho-hum treatment.

This is in stark contrast to other such stories, where the press devotes endless amounts of ink to personalizing and humanizing victims — if they’re the right victim of the right sort of crime, that is.

This media blackout is not for lack of trying by the families. USA Today notes that these families have a public relations firm representing them. And several told CNN that “they wanted the international community – both governments and the Red Cross – to push more forcefully on behalf of their loved ones, to speak out against the terrible conditions they’re experiencing and for their release.”

Taylor Swift is Time’s Person of the Year Just in Time for 2024 Election Tim Young (???!!!)

https://amgreatness.com/2023/12/12/taylor-swift-is-times-person-of-the-year-just-in-time-for-2024-election/

There’s more to Taylor Swift being named Time’s “Person of the Year” than what it looks like on its face – and it’s pretty obvious.

Just a casual look at who has been given the title over the past 10 years should make your eyebrows raise a bit on this year’s choice – Volodymyr Zelensky, Elon Musk before buying Twitter/X, Joe Biden, Greta Thunberg, leftist journalists labeled “The Guardians,” women who started #MeToo and Trump (with the M in Time put over his head to make it look like devil horns). All of those names are directly tied to their politics and political movements – all, except for Taylor Swift.

What this should tell you is simple, they’re ramping up her political involvement. The first national political stance Swift took was against Sen. Marsha Blackburn in 2018. In an Instagram post, Swift stated that she would vote against Blackburn for all the typical uninformed liberal talking points: LGBT nonsense, systemic racism and “violence against women.” And fortunately, the voters of Tennessee didn’t listen.

Then in 2020, someone handed her a plate of cookies and took a picture for her to endorse Joe Biden for President.

But that was all before the June 2022 overturning of Roe v. Wade and vaccines, which have become two critical issues for the left, the former may have even stopped the “red wave” we were promised.

It also seems almost too convenient that Swift’s current love interest, Travis Kelce is Pfizer’s current national mascot for COVID vaccines – and their relationship is pushed nonstop during NFL games. It’s a love story that could only be written by some of the biggest sponsorships in the world – and put on a national stage every Sunday, Thursday, Monday and sports newscasts.  But please don’t listen to me, I’m just one of those crazy conspiracy theorists.

CTV Promotes Fake News Diane Bederman

https://dianebederman.com/ctv-promotes-fake-news/

In December 4, 2023 CTV news anchor Omar Sachedina reported that the Rally by Jews in Ottawa was “in support of the war.”

Omar Sachedina is a Canadian television journalist and anchor for Bell Media. He is the Chief News Anchor and Senior Editor for CTV‘s national evening newscast CTV National News since September 5, 2022.

I reached out to CTV to ask about his statement. Not surprised – I did not hear back.

Sachedina calls himself a journalist. Is he? What facts did he have that led him to state that the rally was in support of the war? Or maybe he was just trying to put the war in “context,” the Jew hating context, as we recently saw from the Presidents of the Poison Ivy league Universities in America.

Here is some context for CTV. The Muslim view of Jews and war.

Ibn ‘Umar (may Allah be pleased with them both) said: “I heard the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) saying: ‘You (i.e. Muslims) will fight against the Jews and you will gain victory over them. The stones will (betray them) saying: ‘O ‘Abdullah (i.e. slave of Allah)! There is a Jew hiding behind me; so kill him.’ 1 This Hadith was reported by Al-Bukhari.

4 Of The Most Morally Bankrupt Lies Anti-Israel Pundits Are Spreading About Hostage Swap By: Tristan Justice

https://thefederalist.com/2023/11/28/4-of-the-most-morally-bankrupt-lies-anti-israel-pundits-are-spreading-about-hostage-swap/

Terrorist sympathizers are out in full force spreading fake news about Israel’s treatment of its prisoners, as the country executes a swap with Hamas for hostages taken by the terrorist group on Oct. 7. Here are four of the most outrageous lies circulating on social media.

1. Israel Is ‘Only Country That Keeps Children As Prisoners’

This week, American supermodel Gigi Hadid shared a post to her more than 79 million Instagram followers condemning Israel as “the only country in the world that keeps children as prisoners of war.” The post, which has been deleted, claimed Palestinian terrorist Ahmed Mansara was “abducted” by Israeli officials at 12 years old and “has endured solitary confinement despite his severe health condition.”

According to the New York Post, Mansara went on a “stabbing rampage” in East Jerusalem with his 15-year-old cousin in 2015 that left a 20-year-old security guard and a 13-year-old boy with critical injuries. Mansara was convicted of two counts of attempted murder after his cousin was killed in the attack by a police officer.

“He initially received a sentence of 12 years in prison, which was later reduced” to nine and a half years, the Post reported. “During his incarceration, Mansara has repeatedly attempted to harm himself and others. He has been in and out of solitary confinement, drawing the ire of Amnesty International, a nongovernmental human rights advocacy group.”

Terrorist sympathizing aside, Hadid’s post claiming Israel is “the only country in the world that keeps children as prisoners of war” is fake news on its face. Roughly 30 children — some of whom still remain in captivity nearly two months later — were taken hostage by Hamas, after the terrorist group slaughtered Israeli women and children in the Oct. 7 massacre which killed at least 1,200.

Unsurprisingly, child hostages held by Hamas have been subject to physical and emotional abuse. A 12-year-old was even reportedly placed in solitary confinement for more than two weeks.

Accusing Israel of genocide is despicable doublethink Gary Lineker’s Israel-bashing has exposed the moral rot of the woke West. Brendan O’Neill

https://www.spiked-online.com/2023/11/22/accusing-israel-of-genocide-is-despicable-doublethink/

Gary Lineker is taking the piss now, isn’t he? He’s had his knuckles rapped by the BBC numerous times for sharing his centrist-dad blather online. For using the public platform gifted to him by us licence-fee payers – on pain of criminal conviction – to advertise his milquetoast views that most people think are bollocks. And yet now, in studied defiance of his bosses, he’s given voice to his most ignorant political opinion yet. To a dinner-party prejudice that isn’t only irritating but will feel genuinely hurtful to many who are forced by law to make Lineker rich. He’s tweeted a link to a video in which Israel is accused of committing genocide against the Palestinians.

Yes, as if Israel hadn’t suffered enough at the murderous hands of Hamas, now it must endure the indignity of a football pundit wondering out loud if it might be guilty of the worst war crime of all. What next, Wayne Rooney sitting in judgement on the Democratic Republic of Congo? ‘Worth 13 minutes of anyone’s time’, said the Match of the Day presenter turned amateur Hague sleuth in his retweet of a conversation between the Guardian’s Owen Jones and Raz Segal, an associate professor of genocide studies at Stockton University in New Jersey. In that chat, Segal says that what Israel is doing in Gaza is a ‘textbook genocide’. Textbook. That is, it conforms precisely to the definition of genocide, which is the murder of a large number of people from an ethnic group with the aim of destroying that ethnic group. This is what Lineker is sharing to his 8.9million followers on X. The lie that the Jewish State has a bloodlust to vaporise all Palestinians.

This is serious, no? Mr Lineker is a representative of Britain’s public broadcaster, the BBC. He is the face of BBC Sport. Did he not stop to think how the Jewish section of the public might feel about his sharing of a clip damning Israel as genocidal? Did it not cross his mind that our Jewish citizens who are compelled to pay his wages might now feel a lesser part of ‘the public’ that the Beeb is meant to embody? The vast majority of British Jews support Israel (if not the Netanyahu government). They consider it ‘the ancestral homeland of the Jewish people’. Call me a contrarian, but I think people paid by the public to provide a service to the public ought not to alienate any section of that public by sharing inflammatory ideological claims.

Media, lies and videotape Western journalists will never reset the lethal prism through which they refract the Palestinian war against the Jews Melanie Phillips

https://melaniephillips.substack.com/p/media-lies-and-videotape-1a5?utm_campaign=email-post&r=8t06w&utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email

There seems to be no limit to the mainstream media’s malevolence against Israel in reporting the war in Gaza.

Until yesterday, media outlets were sneering at Israeli claims that below Gaza’s al Shifa hospital was an infrastructure of tunnels containing a Hamas command centre. When the IDF found a huge stash of guns and ammunition in the hospital’s MRI room, and revealed they had also found the bodies of two hostages one of whom had been murdered in the hospital, media outlets continued to sneer. The BBC’s World Editor, Jeremy Bowen, waved the discovery aside and said he didn’t find it convincing. He declared:

In the Middle East, you see an awful lot of Kalashnikovs … and it’s not inconceivable that perhaps the security department of a hospital might have had them. 

Yesterday, the IDF revealed that it had uncovered a 55-metre long tunnel down a shaft underneath the hospital, ending at a blast-proof door. It also released CCTV footage from al Shifa of a Nepalese and a Thai hostage being brought in, one of them clearly wounded lying on a hospital gurney and the other being roughly dragged through the hospital corridors with staff looking on. 

One might think all this was proof positive that al Shifa was indeed used as a Hamas command centre, just as Israel had always said. But not for the western media, for whom believing that the Palestinian “victims” of Israeli “oppression” are actually bloodthirsty and manipulative liars while the despised Israelis are their truth-telling victims would entail the world spinning off its axis and shattering into a million virtue-signalling fragments along with these journalists’ entire moral personality.

So there was yet another hallucinatory exchange this morning on BBC Radio’s Today programme (about 2 hours 15 minutes in). Presenter Mishal Husain (whose approach to this issue one week ago I wrote about here) insisted to Israel’s spokesman, Eylon Levy, that maybe the hostages in the video … were being brought in for treatment. 

Yes, she really did ask that. Had the Israelis seen footage of them being treated, she inquired? Eh? Since one of them was on a hospital gurney and was clearly injured, she persisted, did the Israelis have footage of him being treated?