In September, HonestReporting caught Sky News using a file photo that not only bore no relationship to the accompanying article but was actually taken a month earlier to illustrate a totally unconnected story. The offending image was subsequently removed but we were left wondering about the apparent lack of control over Sky’s photo editors on its website.
We are now asking the same questions after Sky’s report on 4 November’s clashes between Israeli forces and Hamas terrorists in the Gaza Strip includes a 50 image photo montage. Why has Sky chosen such an excessive number of photos to include in what is a fair and balanced report? Particularly as the vast majority of the images bear no relation to the story in question.
In similar fashion to our previous critique, the first two photos depict Palestinians killed or wounded on October 4, a whole month before the latest incident reported in Sky’s accompanying article. Is this an honest typo or is Sky once again employing old file photos to illustrate current events?
The eleven subsequent photos depict Palestinian deaths, injuries and mourning following the 4 November clashes. Sky did not see fit to include images released by the IDF Spokesperson’s Office illustrating the location of a tunnel on the Gaza border that was to be used to kidnap Israeli soldiers – the reason for Israel’s defensive action in the Gaza Strip.
The remainder of the photo montage depicts scenes from Gaza including Hamas-organised protests, images of which serve the terror organisation’s propaganda efforts.
Please send your e-mails to [email protected] and ask Sky News why such an excessive and unbalanced number of photos have been included in its online report and why Sky continues to inappropriately use old file photos.
UPDATE: Within hours of the release of this communique, Sky News removed the entire photo montage from its website.
THE SCOTSMAN GOES FISHING
The Scotsman reports on the activities of a “Scottish pro-Palestinian activist,” described as a “non-violent participant” accompanying Gaza’s fishing boats. While this activist may not engage in violent acts, the article fails to include relevant background material on the International Solidarity Movement (ISM) to which he is associated.
ISM has a shameful record of placing foreign nationals in danger through encouraging ‘direct action’, which resulted in the death of American citizen Rachel Corrie. In 2003, ISM’s extreme ideology was underscored when terrorists, originating from the UK, used ISM as a cover to attack Mike’s Place bar in Tel Aviv, murdering three people. More recently, ISM has been a leading force in the violent protests against the security barrier at Ni’lin, while an ISM activist has been jailed in the US, charged with “giving about $20,000 to a group he knew supported Hamas.”
Claims of Israeli naval forces firing at Palestinian fishermen for no reason are exactly that – unverified claims made by an ISM activist. Similar to a May 2008 feature in The Guardian, the naval blockade is is presented as a punitive Israeli measure for Hamas’s control over Gaza, not a response to Hamas terrorism. (See here for more context behind the blockade.)
Please send your considered comments to The Scotsman by selecting letters to the editor on this contact form – http://members.scotsman.com/contact.cfm
