The footage of a beige jacketed Palestinian man making a miraculous recovery after appearing to be injured in an Israeli airstrike was broadcast not only on the BBC but also on CNN.
HonestReporting’s video of this sequence has now been viewed over a quarter of a million times on YouTube, helping to expose Pallywood to an audience beyond our regular readership.
The reactions from the BBC and CNN when confronted with the evidence could not have been more different.
CNN’s Anderson Cooper made an on-air statement (Hat tip: Elder of Ziyon):
Anderson Cooper’s statement:
The video we aired came from the news agency Reuters and their feed to us did not include the image of the man standing. We asked Reuters about it today. They say they don’t know the source of the image of that man standing or when that image was shot. They also say they never saw or shot any similar image. The bottom line is that we cannot independently verify when the image of the man standing was taken… whether it was taken before or after.
The other image was taken of the man being dragged away. We obviously will not be using either of these images again. It is not only a traditional military conflict but also one that is being waged in the media as well and our only goal, as always, is to report the truth, the facts on all fronts and that’s why we’ve sent so many of our own reporters and producers into the field.
But what about the BBC? The Guido Fawkes blog published the BBC’s response:
To the best of our knowledge the pictures do not show any kind of ‘staged’ event – and were run in good faith. The footage shown by BBC News was edited from a longer sequence provided by the Reuters news agency in which the man in question is shown being lifted from the ground. He is then given attention at the roadside, before appearing later having recovered.
We ran a shorter edit of those pictures, and would point out that some re-uses of our output by others online have compressed the sequence further. Steps have been taken to ensure any re-broadcast reflects the full sequence so that it is absolutely clear to our audiences.
In response, HonestReporting’s CEO Joe Hyams said:
How is it that Reuters does not know the source of its own footage? It’s completely unacceptable for a supposedly respectable news agency to package unsourced and unverified footage, particularly when the Pallywood phenomenon is a known possibility.
It’s disturbing enough that outside media outlets evidently do not bother to check the footage that is supplied to them by Reuters and other agencies but it is even worse that the BBC cannot bring itself to admit the obvious even when it is staring them in the face.
Muddying the waters by questioning the credibility of HonestReporting and others who republished the sequence of footage is simply a poor attempt to divert responsibility from where it really lies.
While the BBC may be unrepentant, this episode has served to put the media on alert for any further instances of Pallywood staging going on in Gaza.
You can see the footage below if you have not already viewed it.
Keep up to date on all the latest breaking news and media bias on HonestReporting by checking our homepage and live blog as events happen.
84 Comments
Here’s the latest BBC bias – or is it crass ignorance? The scene in this take from BBC News is labelled “Gaza City” – but is actually Frishman Beach, Tel Aviv. http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10151145668963583&set=a.143272338582.114043.517488582&type=1&theater
Guido Fawkes wrote the article, same name as the Guy (no pun intended) who tried to blow up
the English Houses of Parliament many years back, and after whom the 5th November celebration is enacted – burning of the Guy. Pity we just passed that date, or this fellow could have gone the way of his ancestor/namesake Guy Fawkes. Petty crooks and liars should be dealt with severely, especially when they influence public opinion against Israel.
I just watched BBC at 9:15 this morning, Toronto time, where a BBC reporter asked an IDF woman about accusations being made about Israeli disproportionate use o f it’s military strength. She gave a good reply, ” BUT” she missed a golden opportunity to turn the question around to put him in a difficult place, this would be ,: what about Hamas’s disproportionate use of rocket attacks into Israel”?
Er Des, please read it again. Guido was only quoting the BBC. He’s one of the good guys believe me. He’s a friend of Israel, exposes corrupt MPs and the sham of man-made global warming.
The media bias is stacked against Israel, because, tragically this is what makes news!
And in this day and age, anything can be manipulated and massaged to put across misinformation. And even when the source of this misinformation is confronted, the damage has already been done and is irreversible!
Reuters is a publicly traded company, aka Thomson Reuters Corp. The CEO is David Thomson of the prominent Canadian-Jewish Thomson family. Before the merger of Thomson Corp. and Reuters the Thomson family held well north of a 50% stake in the Thomson Corp. The stake in the merged Thomson Reuters is likely still very large. Why not contact him or reach out through the Jewish community in Toronto.
The problem with outlets like CNN is that no apology coming out of Cooper’s mouth is worth anything since the image was already shown and nothing will change people’s mind (unfortunately).
“The American are burning in their tanks.”
–Baghdad Bob
The highly-anti-Zionist/Israel/Semitic New York Times is also owned by self-hating Jews.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arthur_Ochs_Sulzberger,_Jr.
Spot on – the trouble is that the objective of the BBC is to show Israel and the Jewish people in a bad light. Some years ago the then chairman of the UK ZF had a meeting with the Director of News, Helen Bowden (now as a result of the Savile/McAlpine affair having stepped down), she advised they had 8000 staff, most in the BBC News Centre in London, and could not easily control them. Well, the new head of the BBC should have learned his lesson and taken cotrol – tell him to his face – tim.davie@bbc.co.uk
In addition, the UK Jewish Communal leadership prefer to bury their heads in the sand rather than open their mouths resulting in “official” defening silence
If you read both replies closely, the BBC is clearly lying. CNN say that Reuters “don’t know the source of the image of that man standing or when that image was shot. They also say they never saw or shot any similar image.”
However the BBC are very confident that “He is then given attention at the roadside, before appearing later having recovered.” Where did they get that information from? If Reuters don’t know how that scene got into the footage, how can the BBC possibly know?
I’m not sure how you think the responses are different. If anything CNN’s is worse. The clear implication from Cooper is that the man standing was not after being dragged away. Simply saying they won’t be using this footage again means nothing, since they would not have used it again, anyway.
Did anyone notice in the video a man being given a fireman’s lift (as if too injured to walk) by one of his comrades, not long after the other one? As he was carried out of the picture he lifted his head a couple of times as if wondering how his act was going down with the media. He looked conscious, alert, a healthy colour and not in any pain whatsoever.
The women and children rushing about madly must also have been part of the performance. (Stage directions something like “Woman and children enter running, stage left looking frightened and distressed. Exit. Re-enter stage right and repeat as often as they like”)
The stringers the news wire services use in Gaza are all Hamas supporters, hence the Pallywood productions. Some formerly anti-jihadist websites used to be quite good at exposing this chicanery.
Keep at it! This could come to rival the BBC’s crisis when it neglected to check the sources of a Newsnight program that effectively – and wrongly – outed Lord MacAlpine as a child-abuser.
Reuters and BBC MUST be punished, banished from entering IL until the newspaper recants, pay large penalties and the liar permanently denied entrance. The IL government must take action. The news media will learn very quickly when evidence of their negligence and or collusion is provided not to play according to ideology.
Yet another case of the shoddy unreliable unprofessional journalism that we have come to expect of the BBC. The problem is that what can we now believe of the BBC? They appear never to verify their “facts” the issues around the Saville News and the erroneous schoolboy mistake of naming individuals without checking facts means that the Corporation can no longer be presumed to be a serious presenter of News.
However this has a wider disturbing question what “News” provided by the BBC, the once respected organ can we believe? Is it all fatuous biased comment by individuals masquerading as journalists? Oh Lord Reith what has become of the wonderful organ that you created?
The UK Jewish leadership is scared of its own shadow. Many years ago, I was informed by the leadership involved with security that they are scared of a backlash against the UK Jews. No change there then.
Reuters was a Jew and once before israel told the BBC that there would be no co-operatoin with them after yet anothe false story about Israel gassing the Fakes. Reuters ands the BBC should be barred. Who cares about public opinion when they are acting as aNGO for the Fakestinians and Jew/Israel hating lobby.
Call in the UK ambassador (a Jew) and tell him to report back to his Jew hating boss that his comments are unworthy and that his countrry has no right to murder the Taliban in Afghan
Honest Reporting, you are doing a great job. Why don’t you build a case about Reuters and take it to CEO David Thomson and the Thomson family in Canada? They are Jewish and might have a sympathetic ear. Reach out to them directly or through the Jewish community in Toronto. They might have an interest in deliberately dishonest reporting impacting the reputation and the value of their investment. Or buy one share of Thomson Reuters and you are a shareholder. Make your voice heard.
Two years ago the BBC won substantail damages against a production company for supplying it with faked footage because the company used its own staff to pose as customers in a reality TV show about a car boot sale. Now the BBC is once again showing faked footage and Hamas propaganda films on the news as though they were genuine news items. Can this judgement not be used against the BBC to hold them to account and stop them from doing so? Their news reporting is already under investigation following the mis-identification of an innocent person as a paedophile after they failed to check facts and failed to check sources. This more of the same, if not deliberately dishonest reporting.
I’m happy the scandals are almost making BBC colapse. It deserves. Let Discovery or NatGeo (for example) take over BBC scientific coverage. We won’t miss BBC. It’s not like in the WW II or in the times of URSS.
Reteurs and the BBc have broken protocol and ethics in their field as they have not done journalism but rather relectons of opinions. They have not acted right and have compromised their intergrity as journalists.
“How is it that Reuters does not know the source of its own footage?”
—
Fair question. Maybe worth some in (actual voted-in, by an electorate) power holding… those they compel others to fund… to account for?
Or their uncurious nature on matters of promoting vast heat in propaganda while suppressing light via censorship.
Why is a £4Bpa ‘news’ monolith running source material all the time from others?
Or will it all be FoI excluded in time by a tame judge?
Israel must have a lot of money to be able to pay people to spread this kind of propaganda. It’s kinda obvious and Israel is cringe-worthy.
If the success of propaganda is measured by how much is spent on it, then the Palestinians must be spending BILLIONS!
Get real!
Western journalists are also probably afraid of offending the Palestinian terrorists by publishing the truth about their tactics – especially that of using their OWN people as human shields.
Or are journalists spreading anti-Israel propaganda just for fun?
Israel cooked their goose in the latest trail of carnage, so the propaganda machine failed Israel this time, ha ha. One more step towards dismantling the Zionist-Sectarian state of Israel in Palestine. So what’s the Zionist Plan B?
“So what’s the Zionist Plan B?”
My friend, you are on a collision course, not with Israel or Zionism, but with the GOD of Israel – the only true God (which Allah is not, by the way). This is the One who has promised the land to the descendants of Abraham through Isaac and Jacob. If you oppose His Plan (not necessarily the same as that of “Zionists”) which cannot fail, then you will be broken in the end, and lose not only your life but your very soul.
Hear what the true and holy God says
(Psalm 2:1-5):
Why have nations gathered and [why do] kingdoms think vain things?
Kings of a land stand up, and nobles take counsel together against the Lord and against His anointed?
“Let us break their bands and cast off their cords from us.”
He Who dwells in Heaven laughs; the Lord mocks them.
Then He speaks to them in His wrath; and He frightens them with His sore displeasure.
“But I have enthroned My king on Zion, My holy mount.”
[from: http://www.chabad.org/%5D
Zechariah 2:11-16 says:
Ho, Zion!…so said the Lord of Hosts: After glory, He sent me to the nations that plunder you, for whoever touches you touches the apple of his eye. For, behold! I raise My hand over them, and they shall be prey for those who serve them. And you shall know that the Lord of Hosts sent me. Sing and rejoice, O daughter of Zion, for, behold! I will come and dwell in your midst, says the Lord. And many nations shall join the Lord on that day, and they shall be My people; and I will dwell in your midst and you shall know that the Lord of Hosts sent me to you. And the Lord shall inherit Judah as His share on the Holy Land, and He shall again choose Jerusalem…
Are you telling me that Israel is misusing ancient script in religious babblings to justify the subjugation and genocide of Palestine? Well f*k you and f*k Israel, you raving lunatics have been waging your own Jihad against Palestinians for decades.
Only a religious or political nutter would take that bible seriously. Please spare us.
Why use the bible to justify Anasanazi propaganda? genocide? Israel, the Anasanazi capital of the world is about to be destroyed and no amount of lies will save you now.
TC you are a fool. The Bible says so (Psalm 14:1). Why are you so full of hatred against a God whose existence you deny?
This was spoken against a similar fool who once came against Israel and the God of Israel:
Isaiah 37
22. This is the word that the Lord has spoken about him: ‘The virgin daughter of Zion has despised you and has mocked you. The daughter has shaken her head at you.
23. Whom have you reviled and blasphemed, and upon whom have you raised [your] voice? And you have lifted your eyes on high against the Holy One of Israel.
28. And your sitting and your going out and your coming I know, and your raging against Me.
There is no more to say, so don’t bother.
nothing but SILLY VAIN AND FUTILE AND FALSE EXCUSES, efforts of EXCUSES, by BBC AND EVEN CNN —
when in SOCCER, their reporters TALK SO WELL against ANY RACISM.
I’m specially “SHADE NOW”, as Norbee of se Angry Beavers says once as Euro-intellectualo-Beaver to Daggy “Dagja”, — SHADE NOW, sad, for the CNN. for AMERICA.
there ARE some good People who thumbed me up, but there is HUGE RABBLE ANTISEMITE CROWD ALSO in THE USA. SADLY. It will be again soldiers fightin against RACISTS, this time. oh yes it will. I can hold it up. But only if you shmucks are nice to me and give me my aenred place among the Speakers. Boom. I am THE anti-hitler. I have charisma. I have hatred. But love conquers all
? Check out this video on YouTube:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hEKUYB31Wgk&feature=youtube_gdata_player
Sent from my iPad
I see there are now people here who have decided to hate Israel in print, do they not realize that God will destroy ‘all the enemies of Israel” He also says He will take back His land of Canaan, I see clearly why some people in the west bank choose to become citizens of Israel, there they shall receive true salvation and enter into the household of God as His children, the day is dawning when God shall set all things right, I declare to all “choose this day whom you will serve, as for me and my house, we shall serve the Lord”
That’s interesting. I didn’t know that, Andrew.
How can you become an Israeli citizen in west bank?
“Choose this day whom you will serve…” was spoken to the people of Israel by Joshua who led them into the Promised Land. Sadly, many of his listeners, or their descendants, turned away from their God and back to idols. But there is another “promised Land” which is spiritual not physical, and another “Joshua” who alone can bring us in.
The challenge is not, “Where will you live?” but “WHO WILL YOU SERVE?” Even those who are true Jewish Israelis have to make that choice. Everyone – both Jew and Gentile – will have to choose in the end whether to serve the true God and Israel’s Messiah, or idols. Being a physical descendant of Abraham is not enough.
This is my first time I visit here. I found lots of new stuff in your blog, especially its discussion. I mean, you have good knowledge about this issue.
Pourquoi la video n’a pas été presenté comme une seule unité ?
Continuellement ?
After all this video was published by a “Befending Isreal from media” !
what a game !
Idiot !
An image send by God, i think ! but God must use an email, oo something like that !
That’s what i think !
Maybe an ilian ?