Toronto Star Gives Fuel To Hamas Propaganda Machine
January 25, 2008
By: Mike Fegelman
Dear
HonestReporting Canada subscriber:
As the
mainstream media continue to be manipulated by Hamas spin doctors in
exaggerating a humanitarian crisis in Gaza, The Toronto Star was just one of
those media outlets that was duped into giving fuel to the Hamas propaganda
machine.
Mideast bureau
chief Oakland Ross (pictured) gave a platform for Hamas extremism by
reporting on Tuesday that:
“A Hamas representative said
yesterday that five patients died over the weekend in Gaza hospitals because of
the latest fuel embargo.”
But Mr.
Ross failed to report that Palestinian and Israeli officials have denied
this claim and instead echoed Hamas’ fabrications as he and the Star
did not confirm the veracity of this accusation before going to print.
In
sharp contrast, the
CBC,
Jerusalem Post and the
Associated Press to name a few, all referenced this integral information
which essentially puts Hamas’ claims in jeopardy. Considering that these
allegations were derived from a terrorist organization, which has a dubious
record of spewing outright propaganda, it’s paramount that the Star reference
this statement of dissention or otherwise not include Hamas’ “claim” in the
original report altogether.
Without
this vital information, the Toronto Star essentially presented Hamas’ statements
as fact. This failure to disclose essentially encourages accusations of
“collective punishment” against Israel, which certainly do not deserve merit.
HonestReporting Canada brought these concerns to the Star’s attention, who to
their credit, very promptly and professionally set the record straight in a
follow-up report by Mr. Ross in yesterday’s edition of the Star.
According to Mr. Ross' clarification: “Yesterday's events came against the
backdrop of a war of words between Hamas and Israel. Earlier in the week, Hamas
claimed five patients died over the weekend in Gaza hospitals because of the
latest fuel embargo, a statement that Israeli and other Palestinian
officials subsequently said was unfounded. The five people died in their homes,
for one reason or another, and were dead on arrival at the main hospital in Gaza
City, but there was no evidence that the power shutdown played any role in their
deaths.”
Though this
follow-up report was not a mea culpa as per our original request, we are
satisfied that the record has been set straight and that the original reference
has been deleted from the online report, although Google's news crawler still
has a record of this statement.
While
we are certain that Mr. Ross and the Star were acting in good faith in producing
this report, notwithstanding, the Toronto Star blundered at both the reporter
and editor levels, providing false and prejudicial information to hundreds of
thousands of readers, most of whom likely did not see the subsequent
clarification in Ross’ follow-up report.
To
remedy this situation in a way that maintains the Star’s credibility,
HonestReporting Canada urges the Toronto Star to voluntarily:
-
Tell
its readers about the series of errors that enabled false information to be
published.
-
Tell
its readers what specific steps will be taken to ensure these kinds of
problems do not happen again.
By
voluntarily disclosing its journalistic lapses and how it will prevent them in
the future, the Star can strengthen its credibility and become a stronger news
organization.
How You Can
Make a Difference:
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accurate Canadian media coverage of Israel and the Middle East — needs your
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