Dictionary.com’s Unfortunate Choice of Usage
The popular online dictionary, dictionary.com, has become a valuable online resource since its inception more than 20 years ago — which makes it all the more regrettable that the single example of “contemporary usage” for the word “venerate” is taken from a 4-year-old, politically biased opinion piece. The offending sentence is:
How else to explain what just happened: An Israeli government decided to venerate land over justice, and over life itself.
Without the context that this is simply one person’s negative and controversial anti-Israeli government viewpoint, readers see only a defamatory statement that may be construed as a statement of fact, representing common contemporary usage. It is hardly the sort of neutral example one might expect from an academic resource like a dictionary, and leaves one to wonder whether this was just an unfortunate oversight or whether the editor responsible for the choice harbors some anti-Israel bias him or herself.
CAMERA has contacted the dictionary to suggest that the offensive example be replaced with a more neutral one.
Readers can fill out a form here about the problematic content at Dictionary.com.
More from SNAPSHOTS
AP and Times of Israel Correct,
Haaretz Retains“Explosive Bullets” ChargeApril 13, 2018
Update: To its credit, Haaretz has also corrected its piece. After intervention by CAMERA, the Associated Press and Times of Israel have commendably corrected stories relaying the outlandish claim that gunshot injuries with exit wounds [...]
‘Moderate’ Fatah Names Children’s Summer Camp After Murderer
April 12, 2018
Khalil al-Wazir and Yasser Arafat, Abbas' predecessor Fatah, the movement that dominates the West Bank-ruling Palestinian Authority (PA), has named a children’s summer camp after a terrorist. Major media outlets routinely describe both Fatah and [...]
Top Palestinian Official: Hamas is Using Human Shields in Gaza for Media Coverage
April 9, 2018
Mahmoud al-Habbash. Image courtesy of Palestinian Media Watch A high-ranking Palestinian Authority (PA) official, Mahmoud al-Habbash, has said that Hamas is sending civilians to die in violent demonstrations along the Israel-Gaza border in order to [...]
Where’s the Coverage? Syria Violates Demilitarized Buffer Zone with Israel
April 8, 2018
Bashar al-Assad The Syrian government of Bashar al-Assad has placed tanks and heavy artillery inside a demilitarized border zone with Israel. Although Assad’s move violates a “decades-old agreement,” it was widely ignored by major U.S. [...]