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About Those Unsubstantiated Allegations

Part of my job as HonestReporting’s Managing Editor is to call out the media for making unsubstantiated and speculative allegations against Israel. That’s why I criticized those media outlets that prematurely stated as fact that…

Simon Plosker
July 7, 2014
12:00 am

Reading time: < 1 minutes

Part of my job as HonestReporting’s Managing Editor is to call out the media for making unsubstantiated and speculative allegations against Israel.

That’s why I criticized those media outlets that prematurely stated as fact that Jewish extremists or settlers were responsible for the appalling murder of Palestinian teen Mohamed Abu Khdeir. From a journalistic perspective, it was wholly unprofessional to broadcast allegations without stating that they were exactly that. After all, when the media report on criminal cases, accuracy demands the descriptions “alleged” or “suspected” somewhere in the story.

Now that the suspects (and that’s all they are for now despite their arrests) have been revealed to be Jewish Israelis, there will be many on our own side who should reconsider the unsubstantiated speculation that they spread over social media platforms in recent days.

[sc:graybox ]Read the full article by HR Managing Editor Simon Plosker at The Times of Israel.

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Simon Plosker

With over two decades of experience in various non-governmental organizations in the UK and Israel, Simon Plosker returned to HonestReporting in October 2022 as Editorial Director having previously been part of the organization’s management team from 2005 to 2020. Prior to his first spell at HonestReporting, Simon worked in Israel for NGO Monitor, BICOM, and served for a short period in the IDF Spokesperson’s Unit. He was Managing Editor of the Geneva-based NGO United Nations Watch for two years before moving back to the frontline defending Israel from media bias. Simon has a BSoc.Sc in International Studies and Political Science from the University of Birmingham and an MSc in History of International Relations from the London School of Economics. He immigrated to Israel in 2001 from London.

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