Amid disturbing reports of anti-Druze massacres by Syrian forces, caution amidst the fog of war might be warranted. What we’ve seen from the New York Times is something else entirely. It is indifference to the Druze community and advocacy for the new Syrian regime.
In its coverage of recent events in Suwayda, Syria, CNN lends credence to the phrase “no Jews, no news” — the perception that some Western media outlets only highlight atrocities in the Middle East when they can link them to Israel.
The Jerusalem Post is to be commended for entirely withdrawing an article which had wrongly reported that Passover hikers passed over the border into Syria. And while Haaretz slightly readjusted its navigational heading, Ynet remains stuck in the mud.
While U.S. intelligence has yet to determine whether a building attacked in Damascus is an Iranian consular facility, UPI's Adam Schrader knows: Israel "destroyed Iran's consulate in Damascus." McClatchy commendably pulled the story from two dozens sites.
After initially burying Iran's reported presence in the Kafar Sousah neighborhood, Times of Israel gives more prominent coverage to the area's security and intelligence installations.
Reuters' report about Syrian claims of an Israeli strike "targeting the cities of Hama and Tartus" ignored information that the target was an Iranian-backed militia site and weapons depot.
International media outlets citing Israel's 1967 capture of the Golan Heights from Syria fail to inform why. The truncated history lessons ignore Syria's 19-year exploitation of the strategic territory to launch attacks on Israeli civilians below.
CAMERA prompts improved coverage after Haaretz's article on Midhat Saleh, reportedly killed by Israeli gunfire, initially omitted the former Syrian MP's involvement in anti-Israel attacks and his alleged ties to Iran's Revolutionary Guards. AP, in contrast, has yet to amend.
Newsweek's Tom O'Connor gives ample space to Syrian/Iranian/Russian claims that Israel is "terrorizing" Syria and endangering civilians, while treating Iran's military entrenchment in Syria as nothing more than an Israeli accusation about Iran "mak[ing] life a bit uncomfortable."
Multiple secondary media outlets publish an AP story accompanied by a headline that states as fact that "Israeli warplanes strike Syria, kill 4, including children," though the claim in Syria's state media is disputed and unverified. AP's own headline attributes the claim to Syrian state media, qualifying the allegation as just that.
