Another Attempted Stabbing, Another Headline Fail

UPDATE

The Australian hasn’t amended its headline, preferring, it appears, to remove the story in its entirety and replacing it with a novelty Error 404 page to indicate a broken or non-existent link. While this is a somewhat lazy solution, it is clear that HonestReporting and your complaints made an impact.

On Sunday, a teenage female Palestinian assailant who attempted to stab police officers was shot dead by security forces at the Damascus Gate in the Old City of Jerusalem.

This was The Australian‘s headline choice for a Reuters report on the incident:

It falsely implies that the Israeli police are the aggressors in what was an attack initiated by a Palestinian.  It also fails to make clear who was responsible for the “attack attempt,” even leaving the possibility that it was the Israeli police who were responsible.

Considering Reuters itself used this headline – “Israeli police kill Palestinian girl who tried to attack them in Jerusalem – police,” it appears that The Australian has been particularly lazy when it comes to its own version.

We’ve contacted The Australian to request a more appropriate and accurate headline.

Please add your voice and ask for a correction by writing to The Australian – [email protected]

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