Barrage of Bias: Horrendous Headlines
August 22, 2011 12:45 by Simon Plosker
Headlines often set the entire tone of an article and are the first things that the reader sees. The events of the past few days have generated some horrendous headlines. Here are just a few that we spotted:
Perhaps the worst headline belonged to The Independent, which attributed to Israel uniquely malevolent qualities. Was Israel really only out for “revenge” on Palestinians as a whole rather than any obvious military objectives such as defending its civilians from rocket attacks and targeting terrorists? Not according to The Independent.
If it wasn’t a terrorist attack then what was it? The Christian Science Monitor isn’t quite sure, putting the word “terrorist” in quotation marks. Why not simply state that the attacks were carried out by Gaza terrorists instead of “militants”?
The Daily Telegraph needs reminding exactly who was responsible for the terrorist attack in the first place. Aside from the now standard use of the term “militant”, this headline implies that the Israelis were the initiators of the incident, apparently carrying out a cross-border “raid” rather than engaging terrorists who had already attacked Israeli civilians.
The Daily Telegraph continued with another headline which could easily be misinterpreted to imply that the terrorist attack was passively aimed at the “Egyptian border” rather than Israeli civilian targets.
The Financial Times seemed to make it perfectly clear who was responsible for every casualty of both the initial Palestinian terrorist attack and the Israeli response, lumping everything into “Israel attacks”.
A day later, the FT also followed up with a headline that drew a moral equivalence between Palestinian terror and Israeli responses.
Irrespective of the accuracy or otherwise of the article itself, headlines are important. Five times more people read the headline than the actual text of the article itself.
Send your considered comments to the following media outlets:
- The Independent – letters@independent.co.uk
- Christian Science Monitor – letters@csmonitor.com
- Daily Telegraph – dtletters@telegraph.co.uk
- Financial Times – letters.editor@ft.com
» Barrage of Bias: Horrendous Headlines Freedom Alert!: Defending American Freedom by exposing Radical Islam, Socialist, Liberals, and all the Enemies of Freedom, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness!
4:47 pm
Aug 22, 2011
[...] article can be viewed at Barrage of Bias: Horrendous Headlines on [...]
Well-loved. Agree or Disagree:
11 
2
Shaulzeev
6:04 pm
Aug 22, 2011
Please include BBC World service in this litany. Over the weekend they gave persistently failed to record the initial attack on an Israeli bus and the mudder of Israeli civilians as the initial factor . Also the numerous rocket attacks go un-noted, only the Israeli attack on Egyptian soldiers! Militants or murderers?..News at 5 pm today mentions 8 Israelis killed, first time.
Well-loved. Agree or Disagree:
49 
2
Edgar Davidson
6:32 pm
Aug 22, 2011
The media’s anti-Israel bias in the last few days has been worse than ever before, primarily because here was the clearest evidence yet of unprecedented attacks on Israeli civilians, large loss of Israeli life and only very minor targeted responses by Israel against specific major terrorists or those in the act of firing rockets. Yet the media still managed to spin it as an all-out murderous assault on poor innocent Palestinians (and Egyptians). More here:
http://edgar1981.blogspot.com/2011/08/media-and-israeli-government-have-gone.html
Well-loved. Agree or Disagree:
40 
3
suzette ross
10:09 pm
Aug 22, 2011
Thank God for honest reporting who do all this for us, so we know what is going on with all of the
different media reports. Such appalling, inaccurate and biased headlines and articles, makes me think of what their agenda could possibly be.
Persecution of our jewish brothers and sisters is alive and well. Even in my own family.
I am a believer in Yeshua……and to all jewish readers I would like to say sorry.
Suzette (Australia)
Well-loved. Agree or Disagree:
28 
2
DAVID KAPLAN
10:17 pm
Aug 22, 2011
Bias that is is this extreme and endemic can have no other goal but the genocide of the Jews, and that is no exaggeration. The people of the UK see themselves as the proud inheritors of Nazi ideology, with all the twisted, self-righteous rationalizations for the mass murder of Jews.
I think America needs to tell these people to wise up or there will be diplomatic and financial consequences.
Well-loved. Agree or Disagree:
21 
2
Armand Kidouchim
11:33 pm
Aug 22, 2011
Mr Kaplan,
America is out of order, it is a victim for now of an ABOMInation as its current president is doing his best to destroy, destabilize and ”fundamentally change” the wonderful America.
Wait you all until 2012 and see how AMERICANS will voice their concerns.
As to the VERY BIASED ”leftist, liberal, progressivist and mafiosi” media, they will keep doing the devil’s work, ”watch out” the backlash from ”THE SILENT MAJORITY”.
To all Jew haters and to all anti-Semites using Israel for expressing and pouring your vile ”’judgmental hateful actions and remarks” listen carefully,….ISRAEL IS HERE TO STAY, TO THRIVE AND OVERCOME your miserable cabal.
To the ”useful IDIOTS JEWS” who support the leftist agendas,….SHAME ON YOU!
Israel and the Jews say,….NEVER AGAIN,…with the means TO ENFORCE IT!
Well-loved. Agree or Disagree:
25 
4
C Leland
12:36 am
Aug 23, 2011
Hidden due to low comment rating. Click here to see.
Poorly-rated. Agree or Disagree:
2 
12
Armand Kidouchim
12:44 am
Aug 23, 2011
Your comment C Leland is a ”perfect” demonstration of what leftist ”Whackos” ARE LIKE (you)….
and it is why ”America is out of order”,…
we will take America back in 2012,….
so eat you heart out for now….
Hot debate. What do you think?
4 
4
reiska
4:50 am
Aug 23, 2011
Who’s the whacko? To find out CL, take a look in the mirror.
Agree or Disagree:
1 
2
Must Know Headlines — ExposeTheMedia.com
11:29 pm
Aug 22, 2011
[...] Barrage of Bias: Horrendous Headlines About Israel [...]
Well-loved. Agree or Disagree:
5 
0
Armand Kidouchim
11:43 pm
Aug 22, 2011
Here in AMERICA,….ONLY,….FOX NEWS CHANNEL,…reports the truth….
ISRAEL WILL PREVAIL,…and the likes of BBC,..CNBC etc…could eat their heart out.
All this anti Israel rhetoric by the very Biased and Dishonest media will not diminish the output and ISRAEL/JEWS contribution to the world,…. now in the future and as per the past.
Hey the world anti-Semites GET OVER IT,…the jews can defend themselves now!
Never Again,…with the means to ENFORCE IT!
Well-loved. Agree or Disagree:
17 
2
Steve
5:45 pm
Aug 24, 2011
Armand,
If you truly believe that only Fox News reports the truth then you definitely need help to determine what truth is. Fox is news with a complete spin to the right, just like MSNBC’s spin to the left.
Agree or Disagree:
4 
1
Armand Kidouchim
8:26 pm
Aug 24, 2011
Steve,
Your perception and comparison does not take into account that Fox news ”PRESENTS ALWAYS” the 2 versions/opinions (right >>left).
Fox is balanced and fair,…there are no vile remarks or insults by its anchors towards any group.
On the other hand CBS, MSNBC, ABC, NBC and BBC etc… are 100% dishonest with an agenda to the LEFT that is insane and absolutely ridiculous.
So Steve,…keep your Biased Leftist point of view(s) and go drink some more Cool Aid.
Agree or Disagree:
4 
2
philip
9:39 am
Aug 23, 2011
Read the book of Genesis, chapter 12, verse 3.
Agree or Disagree:
5 
2
anonymous
10:26 am
Aug 23, 2011
They try to destroy us, but we live on as they die off.
Let’s eat (them)!
Hot debate. What do you think?
4 
4
suzette ross
9:52 pm
Aug 23, 2011
Yes Phillip……let God do the talking.
Agree or Disagree:
4 
1
Carole
10:07 pm
Aug 23, 2011
Stand strong Israel!
You will see your Messiah soon, He will defend you and your enemies will come to naught!
One day soon you will be able to live in the land Yahweh gave you as an everlasting covenant!
Your critics and enemies will have to face God and answer for the way they treated you!
“I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you” Genesis 12:3
Well-loved. Agree or Disagree:
6 
2
sol
5:28 pm
Aug 24, 2011
im a realist and i am tired of hearing that g-d will punish israel’s enemies. the only way these cowards will learn is by a decisive attack and the policy should be an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth. we must give them what they give us. if they fire 50 rockets into israel we must send them1aid us we 00 rockets back into the same populated civilian area. if they raid israel we must double our efforts to make their punishment twice as hard. that is the only way they will learn that if does not pay to mess with israel. and screw what the the rest of the anti israel world thinks. the us taught the japanese this lesson and the russians and brittish taught the germans a lesson by bombing berlin. 76,000 men women and children were killed and these nations were proud of what they did for survival! we must take a stand and send them message that we will not stand for thier attrosities any longer. also remind the world of what they did to survive!.
Well-loved. Agree or Disagree:
6 
1
Carole
10:05 pm
Aug 24, 2011
It`s pathetic and you can see it`s a deliberate twisting of the truth!
The jewish people have had to deal with this all through history!
It`s a spiritual problem, the evil one hates and despises anyone who is dear to God!
The jews are the `apple of God`s eye` and the christians too, so of course satan goes out of his way to persecute them both especially in these end times before the return of Jesus Christ!
Agree or Disagree:
4 
1
Harvey Stelman
4:29 pm
Aug 25, 2011
Honest Reporting is close to being the only true source of journalism in print, I thank them for keeping true ournalism alive. Students of journalism should be made to take a course given by. “Honest Reporting.”
Well-loved. Agree or Disagree:
5 
0
Barrage of Bias: Horrendous Headlines | Sassy Wire
2:20 pm
Aug 26, 2011
[...] and are the first things that the reader sees. The events of the past few days have generated some horrendous headlines. Here are just a few that we spotted.
Agree or Disagree:
1 
0
Ayo Abimbola
7:51 pm
Dec 11, 2011
The must be willing to report objectively and fairly without undue bias. And that means calling a spade, a spade. Those who carry out terrorist activities against innocent defenseless civilian targets anywhere in the world are clearly not “militants!” Such label or classification sends the wrong message from the media to the general public, because the impression it creates is that murderous “terrorists” are somehow “freedom fighters,” and that is just plain wrong!!
Agree or Disagree:
1 
0