Did the AP base its “convent is bulldozed” headline on unconfirmed rumors relayed by someone who was not on the site and didn’t see it for herself?
CAMERA calls on the AP either to produce direct substantiation that the convent was bulldozed, or to retract its false headline.
Transcript:
Did Israel bulldoze a Catholic convent in Lebanon?
That’s what an incendiary Associated Press headline blared.
Countless other media outlets including the Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, and Toronto Star republished AP’s disturbing charge.
But the very same day as the AP’s story, the Israeli military released images of what it said was the still standing convent.
Israel’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, too, stated the site “is intact and safe.”
While AP’s headline stated as fact “a Catholic convent is bulldozed,” the accompanying article was slightly more cautious, attributing the claim to unnamed “officials,” and cited only partial destruction. Later, the AP relayed a quote from a church official saying, “What we heard is that it was destroyed with bulldozers,” but she “did not have further details as Yaroun’s residents have been displaced.”
Did AP base its “convent is bulldozed” headline on the unconfirmed rumors relayed by someone who was not on the site and didn’t see it for herself?
CAMERA calls on the AP either to produce direct substantiation that the convent was bulldozed, or to retract its false headline.