Dear Honest Reporting Member,
Associated Press boasts some 8,500 client newspapers around the world. No other news agency wields so much clout. Therefore, no news agency bears as much responsibility for honest reporting.
Three recent examples of biased reporting stand out:
- “Israel Decides to Continue Truce,” by AP writer Mark Lavie (June 20)
- “Gaza’s Kids, Israeli Troops Battle,” by AP writer Hamza Hendawi (June 22)
- “Palestinian Activist Killed in Blast,” by AP writer Jamie Taraby (June 24)
If you believe the AP reporting represents bias, send your complaints to:
[email protected](Please note that these are Associated Press, NOT Washington Post articles; we only refer to these URLs for your convenience.)
The most effective method is to write a letter in your own words. Otherwise, cut-and-paste the critique below.
Thank you for your ongoing involvement in the battle against media bias.
HonestReporting.com
========== SAMPLE LETTER OF COMPLAINT ============
To the Editor:
Recent Associated Press articles on the Palestinian-Israeli conflict exhibit troubling bias and distortions.
1) Mark Lavie’s report: “Israel Decides to Continue Truce” (June 20), demonstrates imbalance from the opening sentence: “Israeli soldiers killed a Palestinian on Wednesday, and a Jewish settler died in another West Bank shooting.”
Not only does Lavie fail to identify the Israeli motorist’s murderers as Palestinians, but notice the different ways he describes the two deaths: The Palestinian is “killed” (suggesting a violent death at the hands of Israeli soldiers), while the Israeli “died” (which could innocuously refer to death by natural causes).
Could you please explain the obvious imbalance in this reporting?
2) Hamza Hendawi’s June 22 article “Gaza’s Kids, Israeli Troops Battle,” is a dangerous article that barely hides Hendawi’s praise of Palestinian youth willing to die in the “cat-and-mouse game” with Israeli troops. Hendawi writes of the children’s “astonishing bravado,” and quotes extensively the children’s exultation of death.
Why does this article glorify “martyrdom”? And why does it ignore the Palestinian Authority’s extensive incitement campaign targeting Palestinian children via television and textbooks?
3) In a June 24 article, “Palestinian Activist Killed in Blast,” AP refers to the Palestinian as a “militant”; the headline calls him an “activist.” In fact, Jawabri was a master bomb-maker for Palestinian terrorist organizations, who used his bombs against several Israeli civilian targets. What is the AP definition of “activist” that earns Jawabri such a soft appellation?
This same article presents death tolls in a way that equates Palestinian attackers and Israeli victims: “Since the latest cease-fire took effect June 13, eight Palestinians and six Israelis have been killed.” This tally includes a Palestinian terrorist who blew himself up along with two Israeli soldiers, an armed Palestinian militiaman who attempted to infiltrate into Israel, and a Palestinian who assassinated an Israeli security officer. Should these deaths really be equated with three innocent Israeli motorists, murdered by Palestinian gunmen?
