In journalism, facts matter, even when they are so often brazenly disregarded by anti-Israel activists.
Following the passing of an Israeli law instituting the death penalty for Palestinian terrorists, a group of anti-Israel activists held a protest in Vancouver.
In an April 3 radio report promoting the demonstration, NewsRadio 1130 told listeners about the new law “allowing the Israeli government to execute Palestinian political prisoners,” adding that Israel can now “impose death sentences for Palestinians. Conviction rates for Palestinians tried in military courts is ninety nine percent.”
Listen to the full clip below:
The claim that Israel was set to execute “political prisoners” came directly from promotional flyers for the protest. The broadcast report also quoted one of the demonstration’s organizers, Tamer Aburamadan, a perpetual anti-Israel protester in Vancouver who has been accused of publicly praising Hezbollah, a banned terrorist organization.
In a complaint filed with the Canadian Broadcast Standards Council (CBSC), HonestReporting Canada pointed out that “Israel does not hold any political prisoners. Instead, the Palestinians who are incarcerated have been convicted or are being held under administrative detention for their roles in carrying out terrorist attacks.”
Additionally, we noted that the law is not retroactive, and “only applies for future Palestinians who have been convicted of carrying out murder of innocent Israeli civilians,” but this critical detail was omitted in the broadcast.
Subsequently, Rogers, the owner of NewsRadio 1130, the broadcaster acknowledged that “we concur the report used some inaccurate language to describe to whom and how the law is applicable that could have caused confusion for some listeners.”
Read the full letter below:
In an apology which aired on May 19, NewsRadio 1130’s host told listeners that “1130 News Radio aired a story about demonstrators in Metro Vancouver planning to protest a new Israeli law imposing death sentences on Palestinians convicted of killing Israeli citizens. Our story failed to make clear (that) the law is not retroactive, and only applies to Palestinians who have been convicted of murder, not to all Palestinians held in custody or otherwise detained by Israel. We apologize for the lack of clarity in our report.”
Listen to the full clip below:
While a post-facto correction is not as preferable as full, factual accuracy in the original report, it nevertheless reflects an important acknowledgement from NewsRadio 1130 and its parent company, Rogers, that simply regurgitating pro-Palestinian talking points, which included wild and false accusations against Israel, do not constitute facts, and that proper fact-checking and due diligence remains absolutely essential, particularly for stories that are contentious.
HonestReporting Canada is appreciative that Rogers and NewsRadio 1130 offered a detailed apology for listeners, and hopes that moving forward, unfounded allegations from anti-Israel activists will not be presented as fact.
Ensuring factual accuracy is not only the right thing to do, but it is beneficial for news media outlets, as it helps to strengthen public trust in journalism at a time when disinformation is rampant.
As Rogers noted in its letter, issues such as the Middle East “require diligent and balanced reporting,” at certainly the same level as reporting on any other topic. Therefore, even when anti-Israel activists make allegations, that does not make their claims true, an essential distinction that all news media outlets must remember.
