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December 12, 2017
Reuters Rushes to Publicize Claim of "Israeli Attack." You Won't Believe What Happened Next
There may be times when "local residents" are good sources for a news story. But the death of two members of the Islamic Jihad terror group, killed in an explosion as they raced through Gaza on a motorcycle, is clearly not one of those times.
Before the metaphorical dust had a chance to settle, the Reuters World Twitter account sent to its 236,000 followers the following, in which Israel is named as the culprit:
Two Palestinians killed in Israeli attack in Gaza: local residents https://t.co/CO9FLNmZUl
— Reuters World (@ReutersWorld) December 12, 2017
Turns out it wasn't an Israeli attack. At some point after this was posted on Twitter, the Reuters article updated to note that, by all indications, the terrorists were involved in a planned attack against Israel, but their explosives detonated prematurely. Not only did Israel indicate it wasn't responsible, but Islamic Jihad announced that its two dead members were "martyrs of preparation," indicating that their own weapons did them in.
Still now, hours after the article was updated, the Reuters headline frames the story as one about Israel denying responsibility for an "attack," as opposed to Islamic Jihad bungling plans to strike at Israel.
The conclusion is pretty straightforward. Reuters should be aiming more for accuracy and less for intrigue in headlines and tweets. If a mysterious explosion kills Palestinians, dubious allegations about Israeli involvement don't belong front and center, at least not until they become something more than dubious allegations. And when they become something less than dubious allegations — inaccurate claims — the headline should focus on what happened, not on Israel's denial of something Israel didn't do.
Impatient journalism might get more clicks. But readers expect more from serious news organizations.
Posted by at December 12, 2017 02:32 PM
Comments
Thank you Camera for this.
Here’s another great article and posts showing how Reuters has lied about Israel for years.
http://www.israellycool.com/2016/08/25/another-deceitful-reuters-israel-headline/
Posted by: Ken Kelso at December 13, 2017 06:58 PM
Your comments are way too kind to Reuters given the facts you mentioned
Posted by: Mrsbrite at December 14, 2017 11:47 AM
Reuters is incapable of objective Mideast reporting. Check out the names of Reuters'journalists and they you will note that they are all under threat by the Palestinian Authority to support the Palestinian narrative no matter how false.
Posted by: Lorensacho at December 14, 2017 05:25 PM
Both "Reuters" and the "New York Times" were founded by Jews...yet these days they both appear to be Anti-Israel and borderline Anti-Semitic!!!....WHY IS THAT???
Posted by: Golum at December 14, 2017 06:32 PM
Reuters
Your credibility is a stake. Americans are increasingly skeptical about the accuracy and intent of media coverage today.
When your reportage claims that Israelis killed Palestinians when it was indeed death by their own hands,then your integrity is weakened and we are skeptical about the report. Is that your intent?
We can only hope that you intend to report honestly about Israel., Pl make sure that your reporters dispense accuracy. It is your solemn promise
Posted by: Dr Carol Fineblum at December 14, 2017 09:01 PM
This is why "fake news" is such. Way to go to destroy journalism.
Posted by: Gerry Moskowitz at December 15, 2017 05:24 PM
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