When news organizations and media pundits distort the truth in order to advance an anti-Israel narrative, HonestReporting puts them on notice, demanding they do better. This is how we make our mission — rebuilding trust in media — a reality. And our work continues to reach new audiences every day.
Since we issued our previous impact report on February 24, HonestReporting’s impact on social media grew exponentially. Between March and July, our Instagram posts reached 378 percent more people compared to the previous 90 days. Concurrently, our Twitter engagement rate increased by 124%, while 35% more followers saw our content on Facebook. HonestReporting’s YouTube channel was viewed over 23,000 times — a 50% increase compared to the prior period.
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During the same period, we published 45 in-depth critiques, 13 educational articles and 17 videos. Our work was cited over 125 times by news outlets, including CBS News, The Jerusalem Post, The Times of Israel, The Algemeiner, Jewish News Syndicate, The Jewish Press, United With Israel, Religion News Service, J-Wire and others.
In addition to our growing reach, we continue to bring about change in the media and beyond.
For instance, after HonestReporting launched in February a campaign to help expose business entities linked to Hamas, a British lawmaker took action. In a written question submitted to parliament, Labour peer Lord Foulkes of Cumnock requested that the Home Secretary comment on our revelations about the UK-designated Palestinian terror group’s financial dealings.
Guess @Alivelshi doesn’t like Honest Reporting. So much for dialogue… pic.twitter.com/sXdCEJ2u8u
— HonestReporting (@HonestReporting) April 14, 2022
Throughout the last months, HonestReporting debunked countless false analogies between Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and Israel’s conflict with the Palestinians. When confronted with the truth, some opted to shut down the conversation — like MSNBC host Ali Velshi, who blocked the HonestReporting account on Twitter following our critique of his reporting from Lviv.
In March, we revealed that foreign governments have funneled hundreds of millions of euros into Palestinian projects in Area C of the West Bank (or Judea and Samaria) in violation of the relevant international law and applicable agreements, namely the Oslo Accords that govern the current status of the territory. Israeli and Jewish outlets widely reported on the issue (see, for example, here, here, here, here and here).
The #EU seemingly never wastes a breath to condemn #Israel over 'the settlements', but has no qualms with funding illegal #Palestinian projects in West Bank. Hypocrisy much @eu_eeas @EUinIsrael @EUpalestinians? https://t.co/oJjNwr0gFM
— Arsen Ostrovsky (@Ostrov_A) April 5, 2022
Together with other NGOs, HonestReporting took action when Hamas rejoined Twitter. In a win against online hate speech, the social media site subsequently suspended the terror group’s account.
On April 12, HonestReporting CEO Daniel Pomerantz spoke to representatives from UNESCO, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, at the body’s Paris headquarters. The invitation to address the agency’s Section of Global Citizenship and Peace Education within the Division for Peace and Sustainable Development, part of the Education Sector, followed HonestReporting’s research study which examined media coverage of hate crimes against minorities, including Jews, in the United States.
When major news outlets jumped to conclusions in their reporting on the death of Al Jazeera correspondent Shireen Abu Akleh, who was shot by an unknown gunman during clashes between Palestinian terrorists and the Israeli military, HonestReporting did what some journalists failed to do: outlining the case’s crucial, undisputed facts (see here, here, here, here, here, here, here and here).
We were also the first to report on the partnership between the West Bank’s Birzeit University, an educational institution dominated by the US-designated Hamas terror organization, and several colleges worldwide. Jewish media outlets in Europe subsequently picked up on our scoop.
Meanwhile, HonestReporting worked around the clock to counter media bias in the wake of the Palestinian terror wave that left 19 Israelis dead and many more injured. Between March 21 and May 19, our editorial team produced over 40 articles and videos that combined garnered some 200,000 views and effected real change.
.@NBCNews omits key information in published video title, “Israeli Forces Demolish Palestinian Man's House In West Bank.” The “Palestinian man,” in question is Mahmoud Jaradat, a suspected participant in the terror attack that killed Yehuda Dimentman,25.https://t.co/obrgXUhrJw pic.twitter.com/Ek6jiV8zEt
— HonestReporting (@HonestReporting) February 16, 2022
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. We furthermore encourage our readers to notify us when they identify anti-Israel bias in the media, as well as to circulate our materials through their own channels.
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