HonestReporting’s effort to ensure truth, integrity and fairness in journalism — specifically as it relates to coverage of Israel — is accelerating rapidly. In less than two months, the editorial team published 42 news critiques, 15 educational articles and eight videos.
The impact has been profound.
HonestReporting’s work was cited by media outlets worldwide — including in the United States, The Netherlands, Poland and even the Indian Ocean island Reunion — at least 35 times since we produced our previous success report on July 6. All the while, our Twitter posts have garnered some 1.8 million impressions.
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In July, we pushed back on Ben & Jerry’s announcement that it would no longer sell its products in what it called “Occupied Palestinian Territory;” that is, the disputed West Bank. HonestReporting CEO Daniel Pomerantz published an extensive analysis of the legal implications of the decision and was thereafter quoted in The Washington Post. Additionally, we filed a complaint with the US Office of Antiboycott Compliance.
Clearly, The New York Post — which has some 2.2 million followers on Twitter — has also been keeping a close eye on our articles. On August 28, the Post published a report about alleged self-dealing by Anuradha Mittal, the head of Ben & Jerry’s board of directors. According to a complaint filed to the American tax authorities, the Ben & Jerry’s Foundation sent over $100,000 in grants to the pro-Palestinian Oakland Institute, where Mittal was simultaneously employed. HonestReporting previously reported on this issue. While correlation might not prove causation, it is clear that our work is on the NY Post’s radar.
Our pieces over the last few weeks have also been flagged by lawmakers in Europe. On August 19, we revealed that the Western-backed Palestinian Authority and its ruling Fatah faction are actively supporting antisemitic riots in the West Bank city of Beita. In response, a Dutch lawmaker submitted written questions in parliament that require Foreign Minister Sigrid Kaag to confirm whether or not the government will denounce Ramallah’s backing for swastika-laden Jewish Stars of David that were burned on two separate occasions. Our research was also quoted by The Jewish Journal, The Algemeiner, United with Israel, and CIDI.
On August 17, we published, “As Media Berate Israel, Hamas Reportedly Hiding Enough Funds to Fully Rebuild Gaza Strip,” which amplified an expose on Hamas’ secret foreign investment portfolio, reportedly worth more than $500 million. Prior to our publication, the investigation by Die Welt had gained little traction outside of Germany. However, after HonestReporting took action, the apparent revelation was cited in several European outlets (see here and here), prompting Belgian MP Kathleen Depoorter to submit questions to the government about development aid to the Gaza Strip.
A week later, we called out the Associated Press for describing terrorists in Gaza as “activists.” Our tweet went viral, with numerous international news organizations citing it in articles that highlighted AP’s linguistic distortion of the reality of attacks on Israel. Among others, The Daily Mail and Fox News reported on the issue, forcing AP to issue a statement saying that “going forward” the wire service would “weigh whether they are best called Hamas fighters, militants or activists.”
“Activists”@AssociatedPress. pic.twitter.com/Jl6QYU0hR7
— HonestReporting (@HonestReporting) August 24, 2021
Moreover, HonestReporting in early August uncovered that Mariam Barghouti, a Palestinian contributor to, among other outlets, The Washington Post, The New York Times and CNN, compared Israel to Nazi Germany.
I don’t believe in cancel culture, everyone deserves to do productive work. But if someone is antisemitic or praises Hitler, maybe media companies should assign them to something other than covering Israel? Just seems like common sense. Good investigation by @HonestReporting https://t.co/Q4uUUnr89j
— Daniel Pomerantz (@danielspeaksup) August 6, 2021
Furthermore, following our critique of Peter Beinart’s August 11 “guest essay” for The New York Times, titled “America Needs to Start Telling the Truth About Israel’s Nukes,” HonestReporting was cited not only by Israel Hayom but also by several Arabic-language publications (see here and here), including the Palestinian daily Al-Ayyam.
Meanwhile, our investigative work into anti-Israel bias at the BBC was noted in an article published by the Gatestone Institute.
These and other successes did not go unnoticed by journalists. On July 25, Israeli daily Maariv produced a feature on our CEO titled, “How Daniel Pomerantz Went From American Lawyer to Israel’s Unofficial ‘Minister of Communication.’”
Kudos to @HonestReporting for pointing this out. (Saw it there, then wrote the tweet above) Headlines are important. The actual article is moreso.https://t.co/xHDUE0i2d4
— Tzvi Joffre (@TzviJoffre) August 23, 2021
As we continue to produce results, we urge you to stay informed by visiting our website regularly and signing up to receive our free IsraBites newsletter. Also, we encourage our readers to notify us when they identify anti-Israel bias in the media, as well as to circulate our materials through your own channels.
You can support our work by making a donation.
