It’s an error that has increasingly appeared in mainstream media outlets: upgrading Palestinian diplomatic delegations to embassy and ambassador level in countries that don’t recognize a Palestinian state.
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As recently as the beginning of this month, HonestReporting achieved numerous corrections after media referenced a Palestinian “Ambassador” in the UK, including from the Daily Mail, Times of London and Daily Telegraph.
So it’s disappointing that The Independent, which also made a correction that day, repeated the error, this time with references to a Palestinian “Ambassador” to the US:
Not even Zomlot’s own Twitter feed describes himself as “Ambassador”:
We contacted The Independent and the text in the story was corrected, now referring to the “Head of the Palestinian Liberation Organisation’s General Delegation to the US, Husam Zomlot.”
In addition, the sub-header was changed from a capitalized “Ambassador” to lower-case “ambassador.” While the amendment may appear subtle, it is nonetheless important as it changes the emphasis from an official title to the generic definition of a representative.
Thank you to The Independent for making those corrections.
