"What does it show?" Reuters Handbook of Journalism says captions must answer this question. Why then have Reuters captions repeatedly whitewashed Palestinian attacks against Israelis as "incidents," not even stating that an attack took place?
Reuters reported that legislation stalled in the Senate had a measure "to punish Americans who boycott Israel." The bill narrowly applied only to companies -- not private individuals -- engaged in inter-state or international boycott activity.
What were the biggest failures in 2018 media coverage of Israel? In April, The New York Times published what Amb. Dani Dayan called “the correction of the year” after the Gray Lady wrote that Palestinian Authority payments to terrorists and their families are a “far-right conspiracy theory.” A lot happened since April.
Months after the Hamas-run Ministry of Health removed Laila al-Ghandour from the list of fatalities it blames on Israel, a caption in Reuters' Pictures of the Year 2018 falsely claims the infant died from inhaling tear gas at the Gaza border with Israel. In response to communication from CAMERA, Reuters corrects.
Following a Washington Post correction, Reuters today also corrects the erroneous claim that "Pittsburgh Jewish leaders" penned a letter to President Trump telling him he is unwelcome at memorial events for the Tree of Life massacre victims.
Several Reuters captions Friday failed to note that balloons sent from Gaza into Israel were carrying incendiary devices. One caption refers cryptically to balloons carrying an unspecified type of "device."
An AFP article today falsely depicts the destruction of a Beersheba home, which this morning suffered a direct hit from a rocket fired from Gaza, as limited to "damage to the garden of the family home." CAMERA prompts correction.
When the Israeli army disputed Hamas' account which blamed Israel for the death of 12-year-old Shady Abdel-Aal, AP rose to the journalistic challenge with accurate coverage. Reuters responsibly corrected when presented with information contradicting Hamas. AFP, in contrast, has yet to correct even as Hamas itself has backtracked.
CAMERA prompts Reuters to correct after an article erroneously referred to Tel Aviv as shorthand for Israel. The news agency also corrected a headline which inaccurately stated that a new Israeli laws "bans some left-wing groups," while the law in question also affects right-wing groups which take action against Israel's army.
Reuters captions early this week about the devastation in southern Israel caused by Palestinian "kite terror" ignored the fires' cause. In response to CAMERA's communication, subsequent captions note "Palestinians have been causing blazes by flying kites and balloons loaded with flammable materials."
