The Independent Admits Robert Fisk Story Was False
August 4, 2011 10:51 by Simon Plosker
Robert Fisk: Justice Served?
The following correction has been published in The Independent relating to an article by Robert Fisk on the Arab Spring:
In his Friday essay on 15 April 2011 (“The Arab Awakening – a long time coming”) Robert Fisk quoted from an order said to have been issued by the Saudi Minister of the Interior, HRH Prince Nayef bin Abdul-Aziz Al Saud on 11 March, in which he alleged that Prince Nayef ordered his security forces to show no mercy and to use live rounds on unarmed demonstrators.
Although the essay was published in good faith, we now accept that the “Order” in question is in fact a forgery, and that Prince Nayef did not issue any such order. We apologise sincerely to Prince Nayef for the damage and embarrassment which our reporting of it has caused him.
But what did it take for The Independent and Fisk to back down? The BBC takes up the story that The Independent failed to elaborate on:
Saudi Arabia’s interior minister has accepted undisclosed damages over an article in The Independent newspaper accusing him of ordering police to shoot and kill unarmed protesters.
The newspaper accepted the “order” it reported was in fact a fake.
Its publishers, Independent Print Ltd, also offered “sincere apologies” to Prince Nayef Bin Abdul-Aziz al-Saud at London’s High Court.
Prince Nayef has said he will give the “substantial” damages to charity. …
In the article Mr Fisk said The Independent was in possession of the “extraordinary and outrageous” order from Prince Nayef and said it was “worthy of investigation by the International Criminal Court at The Hague”.
The allegation was not put to Prince Nayef, who is also second deputy prime minister and has been interior minister for more than 40 years, before publication, said Mr Earle [representing the prince].
It was reproduced in its entirety on various websites and paraphrased in numerous news stories published by leading Arabic language media, he said.
So let’s be clear – accusations of horrendous crimes and the spreading of a libel throughout the Internet, later found to be false. Sound familiar?
In October 2006, Fisk was given the front page of The Independent to spread the libel that Israel had used uranium-based weapons in southern Lebanon during the 2006 war. Like the Saudi order, this accusation was also proven to be false, in this case only days after the story was published.
Yet, we are still waiting for a retraction. The story remains online with no retraction from Fisk and The Independent. It appears that such is their arrogance and lack of journalistic integrity, it takes the bottomless pit of Saudi money and legal action to warrant a correction and apology.
The apology marks the second time in recent weeks that The Independent has had to backtrack on the work of one of its “top” – and most anti-Israel – writers.
With columnist Johann Hari stripped of a prestigious journalism prize and suspended from the paper pending an investigation into plagiarism, perhaps it is time that The Independent takes a long hard self-examination of its ethics and those of some of its staff.
Is this another symptom of the malaise currently plaguing the British press as the phone hacking scandal continues to make headlines concerning some UK newspapers?
There is something rotten in The Independent today. We’ve known about it for years, but now the general public is seeing the paper’s credibility collapse in a haze of lies and plagiarism.
It seems that Israel may not be the only victim of a British press out of control. But it might be the only one that won’t get an apology.
» The Independent Admits Robert Fisk Story Was False Freedom Alert!: Defending American Freedom by exposing Radical Islam, Socialist, Liberals, and all the Enemies of Freedom, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness!
4:45 pm
Aug 04, 2011
[...] article can be viewed at The Independent Admits Robert Fisk Story Was False on [...]
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David Guy
4:49 pm
Aug 04, 2011
Hidden due to low comment rating. Click here to see.
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Bernie
6:49 pm
Aug 04, 2011
We know what Fisk is like but what tops everything is the UK limmud group invited him as their
guest speaker over the Christmas period 4 or 5 years back.How is that for brains.
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Joseph Feld
8:02 pm
Aug 10, 2011
I am not a Limmudnik, but I understand why Clive Lawton and co. invited Fisk to Limmud. They wanted him on their turf so they could tell him their views. I doubt that it made any difference, but Limmud’s intentions were idealistic.
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“The Independent” apologises for Fisking it. A “Sorry” from Fixer Fisk next? Yes? No? « Tony Blair
7:46 pm
Aug 04, 2011
[...] Thanks to – Simon Plosker at Honest Reporting [...]
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Harvey Rogers
8:18 pm
Aug 04, 2011
We should stop talking about inaccurracies, journalistic standards, ethics and decency with BBC, The Guardian et al. They are not interested in those things. They are out and out willful anti-Semites and purveyors of hate and lies.
Lawsuits and public pressure can be tried to stop them but they seem determined to proceed on their current path. I don’t know what can be done to stop them, but we should keep trying.
Is the cause of their malicious conduct just one man, or is the entire organization corrupt and rotten?
Harvey Rogers
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Merlyn
8:27 pm
Aug 04, 2011
I believe that it would be in the Israeli government’s interest to sue papers that consistently printed malicious lies, no matter how much it costs.
The real war is with the Media,money needs to be put aside for it..
The price is much higher having counties willing for Israel to be attacked because they don’t know the truth.
Who knows, they might even get damages.
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Armand Kidouchim
9:07 pm
Aug 04, 2011
To Merlyn,
You are absolutely and totally CORRECT.
ISRAEL’S foreign ministry ”MUST” select law firms in Europe and the USA to go after the BIASED and INSANE leftist Media for LIBEL and punish them where they are the most vulnerable ($$$$).
It would make them more responsible and more honest.
For Israel it would be MONEY WELL SPENT and ”necessary”.
Israel get out of your Utopia vis-vis the world media, they are corrupt and the only defense is ”LEGAL ACTION”.
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Steven L
4:43 pm
Aug 13, 2011
I wonder if anyone of you has ever been involved in a law suit.
Probably not otherwise you would talk and write differently.
Israel is one with limited resources against many countries with unlimited resources and no ethics!
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Jiri Adler
9:55 pm
Aug 04, 2011
Well, to paraphrase, Orwell, all of us are equal, but some of us are more equal. And yes, suing these media outlets for damages would probably be the only language they, that is the media, would understand. Naturally, there will be consequences to pay ( by the Jews, who else), because I just can see all those vile stories circulating around – ‘yet another shrewd Jewish lawyer wins big money of Independent for publishing allegedly unsubstantiated story”
Hot debate. What do you think?
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Armand Kidouchim
10:02 pm
Aug 04, 2011
Dear Jiri Adler,
You wrote…..
Naturally, there will be consequences to pay ( by the Jews, who else), because I just can see all those vile stories circulating around – ‘yet another shrewd Jewish lawyer wins big money of Independent for publishing allegedly unsubstantiated story”
……….
So what???
No action(s) carries far more consequences,…and be it if ”yet another schrewed Jewish Lawler” wins big money…..Soooo What??
Staying silent is a CRIME. (NEVER AGAIN! no matter what it takes and what the cost…….)
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Jiri Adler
10:09 pm
Aug 04, 2011
I am afraid, you might have misunderstood. I am very much in favour of suing those SOBs, I was just foreseeing the fact that many anti-Semites out there will, instead of realizing how wrong they were, use it, yet again, as a propaganda tool (smart Jewish lawyers, all those Jewish conspiracy theories, etc.). Which, I would like to stress it again, should not be the reason for not suing them.
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Cliff Ross
10:37 pm
Aug 04, 2011
And just WHY hasn’t Israel been suing so-called reporters for outright lies printed???? Get on it.
And secondly- does nobody in Israel know how to use a ball bat or a club?
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The Independent Admits Robert Fisk Story Was False « THE BLACK KETTLE
10:40 pm
Aug 04, 2011
[...] MORE [...]
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Edmond Davis
12:50 am
Aug 05, 2011
Dear Mr. Harvey Rogers
Nothing can stop those monsters, the same thing happened decades ago with Pravda and Isvestia.
Hot debate. What do you think?
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Steven L
7:45 pm
Aug 10, 2011
Until further retraction is obtained and sanction taken against the perpetrators, Israel should forbid ALL the journalists from the Independent and Guardian to put a foot in Israel.
Selective action must be taken.
BBC continuous slandering should be the next on the list after a last warning and so on with other corrupted news media.
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Val Stern
1:59 am
Aug 05, 2011
Perhaps we could get Deborah Lipstadt to take Fisk to court – THAT would be something
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Steven L
4:37 pm
Aug 13, 2011
There is only one Lipstadt! Suing is costly and takes a lot of time.
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Snowy
2:37 pm
Sep 23, 2011
What libeatring knowledge. Give me liberty or give me death.
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Marjorie Mandell
5:31 pm
Aug 05, 2011
Israel should develop a cadre of attorneys in every area where the media performs in this disgusting manner. Yes, it is costly to sue, but the end result maybe a more careful approach to publishing this unbelievable hate mongering propaganda. No, it won’t stop it, but it will certainly cause discomfort and caution. I agree with all those who propose it, now who can convince the Israeli government to do this?Exposing journalists who consistently lie, and push a personal hate agenda not only helps Israel but humanity……..
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Nigel Blumenthal
6:15 pm
Aug 05, 2011
We should take instruction from the reaction of the community in California, over the proposed ban on circumcision. The community took legal action.
Quote from this week’s Jewish Chronicle:
“In San Francisco, those opposed to the ban began legal proceedings in June calling for the measure to be scrapped from the ballot.
This week they celebrated a victory when Superior Court Judge Loretta Giorgi ruled that the measure would be “expressly pre-empted” because under Californian state law cities cannot regulate medical practice.”
Read this again: “those opposed to the ban began legal proceedings” We should be doing the same here. Through the Bored of Deputies, maybe… no, too radical, and they would probably object. A couple of community-minded activists, maybe, to fund a couple of really solid cases, and this should tell the liars and scoundrels that we mean business.
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Armand Kidouchim
9:07 pm
Aug 05, 2011
What if,……………
an organization like Honest Reporting gets ”initially financial backing” from the state of Israel to select a panel of Law Firms in Europe and USA and sue in the name of Israel and the Jews for Libel.
HR could also ask the Jewish communities in USA and Europe to contribute to a special FUND for LEGAL action to defend Israel and the Jews against Libel by the leftist media, when justified.
Such a fund created by HR will get a lot of support only if it is backed by Israel and after HR shows an initial action(s).
Here is an ACTION that begs to be initiated, SUE NOW ”Richard Goldstone” for his filthy, hateful and outright dishonest report.
That would get the ball rolling,…..
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Anat
8:10 am
Aug 08, 2011
Maybe it is the only way to nail the bastard. Maybe someone should pick up the glove as they say and sue the hell out of him. Maybe that will teach the man a lesson he will not easily forget and the guys at the Independent to be more cautious if not less biased.
I totally agree with Marjorie: Israel should develop a cadre of attorneys in every area where the media performsin this disgusting manner (and who can counter sue in cases of arrest requests in Europe for example). Yes, it is costly but worthy and we do have the capability and capacity to expose the lies, dishonest reporting and sheer hatred and bias. We will at least hurt them badly enough where it’ll hurts.
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tom
7:36 pm
Aug 08, 2011
this is british journalism nowadays, full of dhimis and head in the sand types, once hamas etc have got rid of israel they will turn on the west, these dhimi reporters are just useless idiots to the like os hamas etc, they too will be on th ehit list when they are no longer needed along with george galloway, thankfully israel is going nowhere and will hold the front line for us. cowardly men like fisk will one day give account for their lies and bias as will th ebritish press which barring mel phillips, peter hitchens, and a handful of others is a disgrace to the profession
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Ardon Lyon
1:42 pm
Aug 13, 2011
Well done. I agree that the Government of Israel should attempt to set up a group to sue journalists for all these lies. They are extremely well countered by reports in Honest Reporting etc, but the trouble is that you are preaching to the converted. (I don’t in the least mean by this that you shouldn’t do it.)
Many of us are doing what we can. I published a piece called ‘Murder and Morality’ about three years ago in a small book edited by Stephen Law, ‘Israel, Palestine and Terror’, pointing out a few ‘inconvenient facts’ and arguing against the views of Ted Honderich and other biassed, almost always left wing writers. But I think it has little or no effect. I recently tried, without success, to have a letter published pointing out that since Obama et. al. have stated that Israel should withdraw to earlier borders, presumably he will very soon suggest that the United States will withdraw to borders from which they have expanded by warfare. I stated that I admire and am a supporter of the U.S., but perhaps they, as well as the British Government and the Opposition, will explain why they consider it acceptable for the U.S. to assassinate leaders on foreign soil who arrange to kill their innocent civilians, but that Israel should not do so. As I have remarked, I could not get the letter published!
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bernard eismann
6:36 pm
Aug 16, 2011
There is now and and always has been a ripe undercurrent of anti-Jewish attitude in the UK, It is nothing new nor is the blatant ant-Israel stance of Britain’s leading media. It goes way back. I was an American correspondent in Israel in the 50s and 60s and so it first-hand every day. (“nasty ., pushy Jews” they were, while the Arabs were so well mannered and pleasant.
I believe it is buried deep. in the British gene and can’t be removed except by painful, expensive $urgery.
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Rocco
1:22 pm
Aug 21, 2011
There’s been a campaign to discredit Mr. Robert Fisk, from threats, to calling him an “anit-Semite” because he, like Noam Chomsky, Norman Finkelstein, Amy Goodman, etc. have a moral compass and the balls to speak truth to power. Too bad the Independent are such to have to make their best journalist look as if he was delibirately lying. We support you, Mr. Fisk… they got the guns, the got the money, but we go the numbers.
Hot debate. What do you think?
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Steve Mann
4:31 pm
Sep 01, 2011
You certainly have the numbers- Due to all the half truths and misinformation put about by the likes of Fisk, Chomsky, Finklestien, BBC. Guardian, Observer,CNN, RT TV, al-Jazeera, Pres TV.
And folks like you have fallen for it-Unless of course you are an Islamist-In which case they serve your ideals.
Most come from a Left Wing bias-
They have never forgiven Israel for accepting the support of the USA- Instead of becoming a Soviet Satellite back in the 50`s..
Like George Galloway- At least he openly admits – He would like to see the demise of a state of Israel!
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