Vote for the Dishonest Reporter of 2012

November 4, 2012 15:35 by

In addition to that that other election, now’s the time to vote for the Dishonest Reporter of 2012. It’s our annual recognition of the year’s most skewed and biased coverage of Israel and the Mideast conflict.

Make your voice heard and please choose one of the five nominees below, along with a brief explanation of your choice.  (You may also nominate someone else not on the list). We’ll announce the ignoble winners in a few weeks.

There are three ways to vote:

  1. Post a comment below.
  2. Post a comment on HonestReporting’s Facebook page.
  3. Send an email to action@honestreporting.com

The five nominees (in no particular order)

  1. Gideon Levy: Haaretz journalist, for a survey dishonestly concluding that Israelis support racist, apartheid policies.
  2. Vincent Browne: Veteran Irish journalist, who called Israel a “cancer” on TV.
  3. 60 Minutes: For the CBS News show’s imbalanced look at the status of Christians in the Holy Land.
  4. The Guardian: For flying in the face of reality and insisting that Tel Aviv is Israel’s capital.
  5. Khulood Badawi: UN staffer whose false photo tweet demonizing Israel went viral.

Due to the volume of mail, we can’t acknowledge nominations. For old times sake, see who HonestReporting readers gave the 2011 awards to.

CC BY-NC-SA HonestReporting.com, flickr/Kristen Ortwerth-Jewell, and flickr/Julie Rybarczyk.

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123 Comments

123 Comments → “Vote for the Dishonest Reporter of 2012”

  1. B.Posner

    1:46 am

    Nov 05, 2012

    In order of preference:
    1. #4 – the Guardian on Israel’s capital being Tel Aviv
    2. # 2- Vincent Browne’s despicable journalism
    3. # 1 – Gideon Levy for his embittered commentary

    Well-loved. Agree or Disagree: Thumb up 10 Thumb down 0

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    • Stanley Lawson

      5:36 pm

      Nov 05, 2012

      No doubt. Gideon Levy is 1, 2 & 3

      Agree or Disagree: Thumb up 0 Thumb down 0

      Reply
  2. jimmy

    5:46 am

    Nov 05, 2012

    I suppose that Vincent Browne believes that the IRA is a legitimate liberation organization who’s method of blowing up pubs filled with innocent people is legitimate resistance to the British crown.

    I keep hoping Haaretz is run into the ground. Post-Zionist Israelis are the most despicable beings. They pretend that Israel, without its mandate to provide shelter for Jews, who have been persecuted for over 2000 years just for being Jewish, has a legitimate reason for being because it exists.

    The Guardian is as biased as the BBC, which I am surprised didn’t make the list, especially since the BBC produced an internal report that concluded they are biased. The BBC’s response? “So what!”

    Well-loved. Agree or Disagree: Thumb up 9 Thumb down 1

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  3. Jonathan McDonnell

    12:38 pm

    Nov 05, 2012

    I vote for Vincent Browne.

    Well-loved. Agree or Disagree: Thumb up 5 Thumb down 1

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  4. martin

    1:10 pm

    Nov 05, 2012

    To Jonathan, why? Surely with a Hebrew Jewish name, you should change it to Patrick or Seamus. Look forward to your explanation

    Agree or Disagree: Thumb up 1 Thumb down 0

    Reply
  5. Thassiana

    1:41 pm

    Nov 05, 2012

    Badawis reporting was deliberately misleading. She is the worst of all.

    Agree or Disagree: Thumb up 2 Thumb down 0

    Reply
  6. Bianca Lipschitz

    4:13 pm

    Nov 05, 2012

    Gideon Levy – for the enemy among us, is the worst of all

    Well-loved. Agree or Disagree: Thumb up 11 Thumb down 0

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  7. Raphael

    4:15 pm

    Nov 05, 2012

    1. Guardian – a clear lie. Like saying “New York is capital of USA”.
    2. Gideon Levy – poor methodology in survey set-up.
    3. Vincent Browne – relic of twisted anti-colonial mind set from Irish independence.

    If you have different categories, they should all get “awards”.

    Well-loved. Agree or Disagree: Thumb up 8 Thumb down 0

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  8. Anthony Garland

    4:17 pm

    Nov 05, 2012

    1. Vincent Browne
    2. Gideon Levy
    3.The Guardian which consistently gets it wrong about Israel and is the official
    paper of the biased BBC

    Well-loved. Agree or Disagree: Thumb up 5 Thumb down 1

    Reply
  9. Chaim Boermeester

    4:22 pm

    Nov 05, 2012

    The Guardian

    Agree or Disagree: Thumb up 3 Thumb down 1

    Reply
  10. Bruce Birnberg

    4:35 pm

    Nov 05, 2012

    60 Minutes!

    Well-loved. Agree or Disagree: Thumb up 4 Thumb down 0

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  11. David Pacifici

    4:49 pm

    Nov 05, 2012

    Gideon Levy, no doubt. He lives in Israel and has the real wonderful country before his eyes all the time: and he deliberately choses, for his own agenda to slander it. He cannot claim he didn’t know.

    Well-loved. Agree or Disagree: Thumb up 6 Thumb down 0

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  12. bracha goldman

    4:52 pm

    Nov 05, 2012

    EVERY reporter who has reported the lie “no injuries and no damage” when reporting on kassam, grad, katyusha rocket attacks on us, the residents of the South of Israel!!!!!! That is the biggest lie that is being disseminated today in the Israeli, and of course, the world press. Every missile that is aimed at civilians causes damage, whether it is night terrors, cancelled outings, fear, jumping every time a car or motorcycle guns its motor, thinking it is a siren, sleep deprivation, and that is just the partial list affecting the CALMER residents. Others are diagnosed with PTSD or other problems. Please, Honest Reporting, call the writers to task every time that this lie is repeated!!!!!!

    Well-loved. Agree or Disagree: Thumb up 5 Thumb down 0

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    • EthanP

      5:30 pm

      Nov 05, 2012

      Well said Joanie. Would they say this if any non Jewish population was so targeted?

      Agree or Disagree: Thumb up 0 Thumb down 0

      Reply
  13. Dickk

    5:04 pm

    Nov 05, 2012

    Gideon Levy, because he shows a lack of understanding for the truth. But then again the paper he works and writes for has always had the same problem, If it is Jewish is must be wrong pity!

    Well-loved. Agree or Disagree: Thumb up 4 Thumb down 0

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  14. wim van rooy

    5:25 pm

    Nov 05, 2012

    Gideon Levy, because he must now better, living he himself in Israël! That makes it worse.

    Agree or Disagree: Thumb up 3 Thumb down 0

    Reply
  15. EthanP

    5:27 pm

    Nov 05, 2012

    The nominees are sooo biased it’s hard to choose.
    But I really think that BBC News should top any list due to decades of virulent anti-Israel policy.

    Agree or Disagree: Thumb up 1 Thumb down 0

    Reply
  16. Joanie

    5:29 pm

    Nov 05, 2012

    CBS 60 minutes. Especially because Bob Simon knows better and understands how the press in the US often undermines Israel.
    Too bad the New York Times isn’t on your list.

    Agree or Disagree: Thumb up 2 Thumb down 0

    Reply
  17. Ruth Sobol

    5:44 pm

    Nov 05, 2012

    1. Gideon Levy did the most damage to Israel because he is an Israeli journalist working for a highly respected Israeli newspaper. He has the right to criticize and he has the right to work for his beliefs but he has no right to lie and distort information. Haaretz fell into his trap and is still trying to get out of it. To think that I used to have a subscription to that paper!

    2. 60 minutes – because they should know better by now. Deliberate distortion of well-known facts and such senior reporters should recognise when they are being used by one side.

    3. Everyone is used to The Guardian so I’ll vote for Vincent Browne though I doubt if anyone has ever heard of him!

    Agree or Disagree: Thumb up 0 Thumb down 0

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    • EthanP

      5:51 pm

      Nov 05, 2012

      Ruth; Ha’aretz did not fall into a “trap” they have long followed the leftist path critical of Israel. It’s just more noticable on a right wing dominated government

      Agree or Disagree: Thumb up 0 Thumb down 0

      Reply
  18. Nicky

    5:47 pm

    Nov 05, 2012

    I vote for Vincent Browne, he is not ignorant but chose to use words better fitting coming from the mouth of the leader of Iran. To then state that he is not anti-semitic (though he shares their platform) is the new ‘my best friend is a Jew’ line. A left wing hater of Israel who spouts forth such vile words gets my vote. Such a pity that the far left have embraced the Anti-Israel arena so successfully which makes it a very uncomfortable place for those of us who would have naturally graduated to the left. I find myself veering right with every turn.

    Agree or Disagree: Thumb up 1 Thumb down 0

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  19. Chuck

    5:48 pm

    Nov 05, 2012

    #1 – Gideon Levy

    Agree or Disagree: Thumb up 1 Thumb down 0

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  20. Ken Perlman

    5:53 pm

    Nov 05, 2012

    While its tempting to vote for Gideon Levy, its only Haaretz (nothing new there), So my vote goes to Khulood Badawi: UN staffer, who uses his official post at this corrupt institution to spread his hate.

    In terms of influence, the constant drip, drip, drip of lies, distortions and alternate reality coming from the New York Times should at least be a nominee.

    Agree or Disagree: Thumb up 1 Thumb down 0

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