The international media’s coverage of the Hezbollah rocket attack that killed 12 children playing soccer in a predominantly Druze town in northern Israel was generally appalling.
From Sky News omitting that all casualties were children in their headline describing a strike on a “football pitch,” to The Washington Post’s context-free summary labeling Hezbollah’s actions as simply “attacks in Gaza and Golan Heights.”
However, just hours later on Monday, Sky News reached a new low with a report by their special correspondent, Alex Crawford, detailing the aftermath of the rocket attack in Lebanon.
HonestReporting swiftly condemned the outrageous libel in a widely shared post on the social media site X, rallying our supporters to lodge complaints with Sky News and Alex Crawford.
But rather than retracting the accusation when social media users noted its resemblance to ancient blood libels, Crawford doubled down, posting a mocking response to a comment by British journalist and editor of the Jewish Chronicle, Jake Wallis Simons.
Alex Crawford knew that accusing Jews of having a “lust for revenge” was a 2,000 year old trope, that’s why she wrote it. When challenged, she doubles down, trolling Jews, because trolling Jews was the whole point.
The subtext of her reply “…as demonstrated over the last 9… pic.twitter.com/OyDoGelqKV
— Saul Sadka (@Saul_Sadka) July 29, 2024
Crawford claimed that this alleged Israeli “lust for revenge” had been “demonstrated over the last 9 months,” implying that the vile charge was evidenced by “starvation” in Gaza.
Sky News must now take action. Not only should it issue a retraction and apology, but it also needs to consider whether it wants its journalists perpetuating harmful stereotypes and making unprofessional remarks on social media. Such behavior undermines journalistic integrity and damages Sky’s reputation.
We urge our supporters to voice their concerns and demand accountability by contacting Sky News directly
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Credits: Erez Ben Simon via TPS; Michael Giladi via Flash90; John Stillwell/WPA-Pool via Getty Images
