FAIR is the national progressive media watchdog group, challenging corporate media bias, spin and misinformation.
The IDF video deceptively edited Razan al-Najjar’s comments to distort what she said—a fact not noted by the New York Times report until the third paragraph from the end.
The New York Times story isn’t about “charges of antisemitism,” it’s about criticism of Israel. The headline ought to have said, “Democratic Candidate Questioned About Criticism of Israel.”
The one-state option is gaining traction among both Israeli Jews and Palestinians, but media coverage consistently suggests that the only possible scenarios for Palestine/Israel are either the two-state solution or the continued regime of Israeli occupation, colonization and apartheid.
CounterSpin has talked about US media coverage of Gaza many times over the years. It’s not true that nothing’s changed, but it’s remarkable how much has not.
Cognitive dissonance has marked elite US media coverage of Gaza for many years. This week we revisit conversations with just three of the people that CounterSpin has heard from who are working to expand and deepen US audiences’ understanding of Gaza.
Although to this point, the only Israeli casualty during the entire cycle of demonstrations has been one “lightly wounded” soldier, considerable space in coverage of the massacres is devoted to blaming Palestinians for their own slaughter.
It’s difficult to imagine any of the seemingly knowledgeable and healthy adults at the New York Times editorial board actually thinking the US has been “neutral” in its dealings with Israel and Palestine.
Journalists know very well how to include the identity of the killers in the headline—when they think that’s information that’s important for the reader to know.
Hours after Trump pulled out of the Iran deal, CNN’s Barbara Starr rushed to publish an anonymously sourced and transparently propagandistic press release for the Trump administration and Pentagon. Wouldn’t it be easier if Starr just skipped the middleman and worked at the DoD directly?
News outlets have performed torturous linguistic contortions to avoid stating the simple fact that Israel is shooting hundreds of demonstrators with live ammunition, killing 30 and injuring close to 2,000. An Associated Press headline (4/6/18) said, “Palestinian Protesters Burn Tires, Sending Smoke Billowing at Gaza/Israel Border; Israeli Troops Fire Back Sporadically.” That’s a logical impossibility: […]
As FAIR has noted before (e.g., Extra!, 1/17; FAIR.org, 4/2/18), the term “clash” is almost always used to launder power asymmetry and give the reader the impression of two equal warring sides. It obscures power dynamics and the nature of the conflict itself, e.g., who instigated it and what weapons if any were used. “Clash” […]
Recent reporting on the Palestinians’ Great Return March offers a case study in how news media establish truncated, distorted parameters of discussion.
News outlets have performed linguistic contortions to avoid stating the simple fact that Israel is shooting hundreds of demonstrators with live ammunition.
“The idea that you can shoot anybody who approaches the border fence on their own side of the border, when no one is at risk, there is no danger to life, there is no mortal threat, which is the only basis on which live fire can be used—it’s patently illegal.”
The term “clash” is almost always used to to launder power asymmetry and give the reader the impression of two equal warring sides.
US media seem to suggest that there’s an “Israeli” position and a “Palestinian” position, but no actual reality worth trying to discern.
A segment on Israel killing 17 Gaza protesters illustrates how NPR consistently deflects blame for Israeli violence—either shifting blame onto Palestinian victims or dispersing it through false parity.
NPR Brings You the Unheard Voice of Rush Limbaugh…Boosting Trump’s Tax Bill With ‘Bonus’ Hype…NYT: Don’t Be Misled by Claims That CEOs Are Rich…Israel’s ‘Retaliatory’ Bombing of Syria for Shooting Down an Israeli Bomber…From ‘Sidelines,’ US Controls 1/4th of Syria…‘Anti-Propaganda Warrior,’ You Have a Mission Closer to Home…Pro-Capitalist Times
Media outlets are saying that Israel is “retaliating” against Syria for defending itself against an ongoing Israeli attack.
A Newsweek article described 16-year-old Palestinian Ahed Tamimi “assaulting Israeli soldiers.” It failed to report that Israeli soldiers had just shot and severely injured her 14-year-old cousin.
