Wednesday afternoon, Jerusalem. The Damascus Gate, one of the main entrances to Jerusalem’s Old City, a place where crowds of people come every day to work, shop, live and pray. Three Palestinian terrorists approached the Old City, carrying hidden knives, automatic weapons and explosives. When police officers questioned the men about their suspicious behavior, the Palestinians took out the hidden weapons, opened fire and began stabbing.
Police officers returned fire, killing all three assailants, averting a potentially enormous massacre. One police officer was injured and another killed: 19 year old Hadar Cohen.
Stay informed
Let us know where to email your free, daily news roundups:
How does news media usually report attacks of this sort around the world?
Last August, a would-be attacker boarded a train in Paris carrying a similar arsenal to the attackers in Israel (knives and automatic firearms). Several unarmed, off-duty US servicemen noticed the assailant preparing to fire his machine gun and subdued him before he could open fire. Almost every headline said that the Americans had “averted a massacre,” or “overpowered a gunman,” and some articles even referred to the soldiers as “heroes.”
After the Islamic State-related attacks in Paris and San Bernardino, every headline we found focused primarily on the attacks, the victims, and in some cases the courageous work of the police, firefighters and military.
We did not find any headlines that focused primarily on the death of the attackers.
How does the usual media coverage compare with reports on last week’s attack against Israelis?
Over and over we saw the phrase, “Palestinians killed” or “Israeli police shoot Palestinians” even though the Palestinians in question were, in fact, attackers.
CBS News: 3 Palestinians killed as daily violence grinds on. (This headline was later changed thanks to diligent responses from HonestReporting readers like you!)
Reuters: Three Palestinians shot dead after carrying out attack in Jerusalem: police. (This headline was also subsequently changed.)
NBC: Damascus Gate Attack: Three Gunmen Killed in Jerusalem After Injuring Israeli Cops
Al Jazeera: Israeli police kill three Palestinian men after attack
Some headlines did not mention the terror attack at all, such as the initial CBS headline. However, even when headlines did mention the attack, many emphasized first and foremost that Israeli police had killed three Palestinians.
This stands in stark contrast to the way similar events are covered all over the world. Imagine a 9/11 headline stating, “Fifteen Saudi men killed in America…” or a Paris headline saying, “Middle Eastern men killed by French Police…” In this kind of situation, where people are under attack, a headline that emphasizes the death of the terrorists is misleading to the point of offensive.
And yet the above examples are only a few of the many disturbingly inaccurate headlines covering last week’s attack. Further, most articles incorrectly claimed that the attackers were shot after their attack, when in fact they were shot during their attack.
That’s an important distinction: because it shows that the police acted in direct self-defense, and saved lives by stopping terrorists while they were in the act of attacking. Incorrect use of the word “after” lends undeserved credibility to false Palestinian claims that Israeli police engage in “executions” or “extrajudicial killings.”
News sources are capable of writing an accurate headline about a terror attack, but for some reason, when it comes to Israel many choose not to.
Before you comment on this article, please remind yourself of our Comments Policy. Any comments deemed to be in breach of the policy will be removed at the editor’s discretion.
16 Comments
It’s worse than censorship when they distort by using incorrect usage of words. It is damaging to everyone who seeks justice to be given from being informed or uninformed by reason or no reason. It is better to know exactly the facts, without emotion or reaction by the courier.
How is this different from the ‘on the ground’ reporting of Hamas Terrorists, firing off rockets just below the windows of the international journalist’s hotel rooms, during the summer war of 2014? As I remember it only one reporter was brave enough to file an accurate report. He was quickly transferred out of Gaza. The narrative that ‘sells’ is Jews kill innocent Muslims. When marketing to the public, which groups do you favor, the 1.6 Billion Muslims or the 16 million Jews. Truth has virtually nothing to do with Main Stream Media, headlines sell; in the press it’s above the fold on the front page, the correction is buried with the obituaries. On TV it’s the lead that keeps the attention of the unwitting audience.
How is this different from the ‘on the ground’ reporting of Hamas Terrorists, firing off rockets just below the windows of the international journalist’s hotel rooms, during the summer war of 2014? As I remember it only one reporter was brave enough to file an accurate report. He was quickly transferred out of Gaza. The narrative that ‘sells’ is Jews kill innocent Muslims. When marketing to the public, which groups do you favor, the 1.6 Billion Muslims or the 16 million Jews. Truth has virtually nothing to do with Main Stream Media, headlines sell; in the press it’s above the fold on the front page, the correction is buried with the obituaries. On TV it’s the lead that keeps the attention of the unwitting audience.
The media should be sentenced to re-education camps where the focus would be on truth rather than constant lies or what is fed to them by the American Marxist @1600.
The media should be sentenced to re-education camps where the focus would be on truth rather than constant lies or what is fed to them by the American Marxist @1600.
all crooked journalistic roads lead to the back pocket. if hey tell the truth about israeli happenings, there will be no interest and no papers sold.
all crooked journalistic roads lead to the back pocket. if hey tell the truth about israeli happenings, there will be no interest and no papers sold.
Suggestion to other posters — Dennis Ross just published “Doomed to Succeed.” It’s worth reading, to see ways to address these consistent false views of Israel that lead to journalistic bias like this headline.
Ross outlines the “assumptions” that have taken on mythology in the US government’s approach to Middle East policies, and more importantly, he outlines one by one the impact of those policies in specific instances… showing that they are FALSE and don’t work.
For instance, the myth that Israel is cause of problems and distancing from Israel will help build better relationships with Arab countries pops up over and over, but when implemented, it’s false! In fact Arab nations don’t use US relationship to Israel to judge their relationship to the US. They use US support of THEIR main goals which are about the other powers in the region. Previously it was Nasser and Egypt. Now it’s Iran. And so on.
If we can get under and change these myths …. that is the way we can affect a shift.
Suggestion to other posters — Dennis Ross just published “Doomed to Succeed.” It’s worth reading, to see ways to address these consistent false views of Israel that lead to journalistic bias like this headline.
Ross outlines the “assumptions” that have taken on mythology in the US government’s approach to Middle East policies, and more importantly, he outlines one by one the impact of those policies in specific instances… showing that they are FALSE and don’t work.
For instance, the myth that Israel is cause of problems and distancing from Israel will help build better relationships with Arab countries pops up over and over, but when implemented, it’s false! In fact Arab nations don’t use US relationship to Israel to judge their relationship to the US. They use US support of THEIR main goals which are about the other powers in the region. Previously it was Nasser and Egypt. Now it’s Iran. And so on.
If we can get under and change these myths …. that is the way we can affect a shift.
The BBC is no different to the other broadcasters you mentioned when it comes to Israel, discussing
The BBC is no different to the other broadcasters you mentioned when it comes to Israel, discussing
The news media is simular to a doctor examing itself, it has a fool for a patient
The news media is simular to a doctor examing itself, it has a fool for a patient
There’s a vast world wide conspiracy by all leftists to destroy Israel ….what’s so bad is that it’s fed by and led by Israeli deaf and blind creeps in the media who give cover to the Jew haters
G00gle pay 78$ per hour my last pay check was $9240 w0rking 98 hours a week online. My y0unger brother friend has been averaging 13k for months now and he works about 22 hours a week. I cant believe h0w easy it was once I tried it out. This is what I do..click at this go to tech tab for more details
Visit This link =====>> https://www.facebook.com/Work-AT-Home-473774719498647/?sk=app_190322544333196#_=_
Pingback: The Media's 'Israel Problem' is Spreading. Here's Why. | HonestReporting