AP

August 1, 2004

Media Downplay Hamas Responsibility for Terror

In covering the recent charges against the Holy Land Foundation for Relief and Development, several media outlets downplayed the relationship between Hamas and terrorism, saying only that it is "blamed for" or "accused of" attacks against Israel. This language is misleading in light of the fact that Hamas itself regularly takes credit for attacks.
July 28, 2004

AP Misleads on Judaism’s Holiest Site

A July 27, 2004 Associated Press article by Dan Waldman about the blocked attempt of an extreme Jewish group to enter the Har Habayit (Temple Mount) on Tisha B'av, a holiday which commemorates the destruction of the two Jewish temples which stood on that site, misled readers both about the mount's significance and its history in Judaism.
July 23, 2004

Reuters and AP Echo Hezbollah

Reuters and Associated Press covered the slaying of two Israeli soldiers by Hezbollah terrorists on July 20, 2004 in reports that could have come straight from Al Manar, Hezbollah's main propaganda engine.

June 21, 2004

Updated: AP Finally Corrects

July 2 update follows. The foreign desk at the Associated Press wire service apparently has no mechanism in place to correct factual errors. Over the last year, evidence regarding more than half a dozen straight-forward substantive errors was passed from editor to editor until it fell by the wayside. This was the case in a June 10 error by correspondent Ali Daraghmeh, who falsely reported that in the West Bank, "Israel does not allow Palestinian officers to patrol in uniform."

May 19, 2004

Journalists Fall Prey to Palestinian Booby-Traps

In the labyrinth of concrete homes and competing claims that mark Israel's operation in Gaza, the Los Angeles Times' Ken Ellingwood loses his way, straying from the Society of Professional Journalists' Code of Ethics in reporting a Palestinian claim as fact. He is joined in this by the Guardian's Chris McGreal on NPR.
May 17, 2004

AP’s Barzak Does Damage Control for Arafat

The Associated Press (AP) calls itself "the largest and oldest news organization in the world," whose self-declared mission is "to be the essential global news network, providing distinctive news services of the highest quality, reliability and objectivity..." Why then does it allow its reporters to interpret the news according to their own agenda instead of reporting the straight facts?

May 17, 2004

Bloopers, Bias and Terrorist Cross-Fire at AP

The Associated Press (AP) has adopted highly inaccurate language to refer to Palestinian terror groups and the acts they perpetrate. It has also misled readers through simple factual error. In general, AP reporting relies heavily on Palestinian sources, gives priority to Palestinian views and even omits Israeli perspectives.
April 1, 2004

Partisan Reporting at AP

The New York Times Web site and the Boston Globe newspaper were just two among other media that ran a distorted Associated Press article from March 31, 2004 about Jewish purchase of property in the Silwan neighborhood of Jerusalem. Written by Ravi Nessman, the AP article took an overtly partisan stance regarding the day’s events in Silwan.

March 18, 2004

Coverage of Unwitting Palestinian Boy-Bomber

The exploitation of Palestinian children in attacks against Israel is a troubling trend which deserves media coverage. Yet, some news outlets did not even cover the story of 11-year-old Abdullah Quran. Others, most notably the Boston Globe and MSNBC's "The Abrams Report," gave the incident the prominence it deserved.
March 4, 2004

AP Article on Palestinian Emigration Blames Only Israel

In a March 1, 2004 article about Palestinian emigration, Associated Press Writer Jason Keyser makes selective use of context to illustrate why Palestinians are leaving the West Bank. The essential backdrop of terrorism — supported in principle by a majority of Palestinians, and made possible by PA complicity and funding — is omitted from this article, as are lawlessness and Palestinian Authority corruption.