ABC News Apologizes After Making Big Israel-Palestine Error

[KoKo]

ABC News Apologizes After Making Big Israel-Palestine Error
The Huffington Post | By Jack Mirkinson

ABC News has said it will correct an error it made on Tuesday's edition of "World News," when it mischaracterized a picture of a Palestinian family dealing with the aftermath of an Israeli strike as an Israeli family coping from a Palestinian strike.

This was the picture in question. It was taken by the AP's Khalil Hamra. The caption reads, "Palestinians try to salvage what they can of their belongings from the rubble of a house destroyed by an overnight Israeli airstrike in Gaza City Tuesday."

Diane Sawyer Misrepresents Footage of Palestinian Bombing Victims as Israelis

But, on Tuesday's broadcast, Diane Sawyer told viewers that the picture showed "An Israeli family trying to salvage what they can":

?1

[The Magistrate]

1. That, Ma'am, Takes a Very Special Kind Of Stupid

One would like to think anyone with three spare brain cells to rub together would be sufficiently aware as to know that was, at the very least, not a scene anywhere in Israel....

[KoKo]

6. Well...there's this:

Something Contradictory in this....would you agree? when it is blown against the walls of a castle; it produces no damage whatever, on account of its lightness and littleness WE HAVE A CORPORATE CASTLE...BACKED UP by MIC & MEDIA INDUSTRIAL COMPLEX.

-----------------

It is well said in the old proverb,

http://www.quoteyard.com/a-lie-can-be-halfway-around-the-world-before-the-truth-gets-its-boots-on/

“A lie will go round the world while truth is pulling its boots on.” Nevertheless, it does not injure us; for if light as feather it travels as fast, its effect is just about as tremendous as the effect of down, when it is blown against the walls of a castle; it produces no damage whatever, on account of its lightness and littleness.

]Variant:
1). A lie will go round the world while truth is pulling its boots on.
2). A great lie may be widely accepted before the truth comes to light.
3). A lie gets halfway around the world before the truth has a chance to get its pants on.

Misattribution: This quote is often misattributed to Winston Churchill, while this quote is available in many books published before the birth of Winston Churchill.

[Scootaloo]

8. No, shit like that is par for the course for American reporting on I/P

It's all to keep the fairy tale of plucky but helpless Jewish victims fighting valiantly against mindless hordes of monstrous Arabs going, for the infotainment of people who probably think Palestine is somewhere in the fucking Caribbean.

[KoKo]

17. We are not supposed to know....it's a Special Situation when Israel does it...

And, that's REALLY WRONG...why it should be SPECIAL....given the Global Situation that's way after WWII....when times change and "others" come into influence that ARE NOT ABOUT....what happened Under Hitler seem to focus on ME Invasions to rectify what happened in Germany.

I realize that Death & Destruction of Families and Lifestyles Lives for Generations.......But...Palestine?

I don't know...it's all very distressing to see the Israeli Settlers after WWII acting like this when they had so much support from the GLOBAL Community..and now they KILL like THEY WERE KILLED....Discriminate...LIKE THEY WERE DISCRIMINATED AGAINST..... And, the Cycle of VIOLENCE just CONTINUES.

There were "Good Folks" who fled to Palistine in the Jewish Community......but...it's all gone downhill and they are killing like they were killed.....WITH BIAS and Imperial Asperations.

It's OTT...and SAD and Destructive........and does no good for anyone....

[elleng]

2. How the hell will it 'correct' that error?

I'm very sorry about this, I like Diane Sawyer. I tend to stay away from this nearly unresolveable issue because it is so difficult, but I did show high school classmates that there IS legitimately another side. I think we're still 'friends.'

[LittleBlue]

3. "Error"

[KoKo]

13. Misreporting by "Handlers?"

[Mike Nelson]

4. Can't believe she is still working...

...and how incredibly wealthy this has made her...wow...

[TeeYiYi]

16. Why can't you believe she's still working? ..nt

[KoKo]

18. Back in the "Old Days" when I watched MSM...she was pretty cool as Female Reporter

One of the First to break into the "Man's World" of Reporting.

So sad to see this....she's just reporting what her "Handlers" tell her. BUT...she's probably a Multi-Millionaire
and she says "WTF" ....I've Made it ........Do Your OWN THING...if you want to CHALLENGE ME!

HOW the RICH GET RICHER...and the POOR STAY POORER?

MSM supplied to US PEASANTS by our CORRUPT FCC!

[TeeYiYi]

22. She's been the LEAD anchor for ABC World News for 5 years...

...and will be retiring in September. Do you have the same opinion of Bryan Williams and Scott Pelley?...

I'm not carrying water for mainstream media but Diane Sawyer should be considered a role model. She's had an amazing career and made it to the top in her field. How is that anything to be ashamed of?

TYY

[KoKo]

23. Because she LIed in this Report on I/P...and she probably lied in other reports if she went this far

to lie about I/P Deaths...she's been paid off and doesn't even give a "WTF" if she's found out that SHE LIED.

That's what's sad about this.

[TeeYiYi]

24. What do you mean she lied?...

Isn't she reading a teleprompter?

Are you saying she lied about ABC's screw up, after the fact?

TYY

[KoKo]

25. She lied in reporting the Lie...Check out the Video and Photo in the OP I posted..n/t

[TeeYiYi]

26. I did watch the video...

She didn't LIE. She's reading what someone else wrote on the teleprompter. It's a major screw up by ABC but Diane Sawyer didn't lie. She read what was in front of her. That's part of being the anchor.

I'm sure there's no one that feels worse about what happened than her.

TYY

[KoKo]

27. Excuse Me! She is a long time reporter and isn't Junior in her position...She Reported a Lie!

She's Savvy with enough experience to have had a say in what she Reports. She's an INSIDER...and doesn't do what a INTERN tells her....

Do YOU EVEN KNOW how Long Sawyer has been around? SENIOR STATUS! She doesn't just show up and read a teleprompter like the folks on the "NEW WEATHER CHANNEL."

[TeeYiYi]

29. Are you saying...

...she had some nefarious purpose behind reporting such a ridiculous screw up as fact? Like, no one was going to notice? You think she lied even though the truth would have been better?

Yes, she has senior status. Now you're making my point for me.

TYY

[KoKo]

30. Why did she lie...when the Truth would have been better?

Yes..that's what I'm saying.

[TeeYiYi]

32. She didn't lie...

She was the public face behind a herculean ABC screw up.

TYY

[HangOnKids]

33. Because higher ups never lie?

bush, cheney, rumsfield, rice, powell, HEY there is one and ONLY ONE nefarious purpose..... pushing bullshit so rich fuckers can make more money. Get it? That is why all these media assholes have a job.

[TeeYiYi]

38. About a photo that is clearly not in Israel?...

What would be the point when it would have been easier to find a different picture?

We're talking about Diane Sawyer here, not the BFEE.

TYY

[HangOnKids]

41. Sorry you are silly

Diane Sawyer is an ass. Those face lifts have cut into her brain.

[Skidmore]

42. It doesn't matter if it were Sawyer or any other anchor, the story was

false and good journalism demands a correction. A false story impacts public perceptions on many levels from in the government to on the street. Now people complain all the time about not being able to trust the media. When some one in the media does correct a story, you don't discount it. You push for the behavior to be adopted by other sources and insist that it is once again the standard by which those who claim to be journalists and the owners of their outlets practice the profession. I'm satisfied that there was a detailed explanation of the misrepresentation and a full apology, not one of those non-apologies apologies surrounded by weasel words trying to insist the story, as reported, wasn't totally false. It was a flat out misrepresentation. Period. Would we have seen that sort of responsiveness in the ramping up of the Iraq war, who knows what heartache the world would have been prevented. We can, and should, be vigilant and insist on accuracy in reporting.

[TeeYiYi]

48. I don't doubt...

...that ABC intended to show bias toward Israel and for that, they deserve everything they got. The biased American reporting surrounding I/P is shameful.

I actually wonder if some savvy intern intentionally inserted the wrong picture to make a point. Good on them, if they did.

That said, I don't believe for a second that Diane Sawyer was behind any intentional deception regarding this issue. There is no end game that would make sense for her to make such a huge blunder. I think she was set up, accidentally or otherwise.

I have no love for mainstream media but I'll always have respect for Diane Sawyer.

TYY

[zeemike]

49. Well you know that is kind of the problem.

We get caught up in the cult of personalities...we love some and hate others, when in fact they are just images created for us to love/hate...no different than the WWF only less obvious for the more sophisticated.

And in that is power to manipulate the perceptions of people, and they do.

[Mike Nelson]

28. I remember she was on 60 Minutes a long time ago...

...did not follow her career. I think she worked with Richard Nixon and do some chatty news show? I don't watch ABC, NBC or CBS network news and had no recent knowledge of her... other than hearing she had been out on the town at this or that ritzy event. I had heard of Bryan Williams (NBC), but the other name (CBS) is new to me. Frankly, I never liked Diane Sawyer, so that may be just me avoiding her! I really thought she must have left the business...

[TeeYiYi]

36. I don't watch network news either...

...but I've always liked Diane Sawyer.

Thanks for you reply. I was concerned that your opinion came from a place of ageism and misogyny but your reply has shown that that is just not the case. I'm happy to find out that you just plain don't like her. I can accept that and I appreciate your honesty.

TYY

[Mike Nelson]

39. Probably, it was the Nixon connection...

...now that I think about it some more. I hope Joy Reid gets her job - and keeps it for 50 years... then, I'll watch

[Skidmore]

43. No, I want Joy to have her own show and not be tied to the anchor chair.

She is excellent at what she does. One of my favorite analysts.

[alsame]

5. "Rockets raining down

on Israel". Guess she doesn't know about Operation Protective edge or the Palestinian casualties either.

[KoKo]

21. The Mainstream Media doesn't even TRY TO HIDE the BIAS....anymore...

They can Lie...and a Twitter Apology suffices it that they were WRONG....and, ALL is FORGIVEN?

[Skidmore]

7. I noticed a reference to that misrepresentation this morning and

e-mailed their news department to ask for a retraction and a correction, as I'm sure others did as well. I was surprised to see that they corrected the record. The presentation of information does influence the events in these areas and the policy development here. Were similar corrections of record occur on many other news programs with such speed and lack of excuse making.

[KoKo]

10. Thanks for Sharing your effort about this....

But....why could they have "erred" in the first place...given that Social Media gets all over these mistakes by MSM in short time with Twitter and such and YET...they Think They Can Get Away with Lies ...even with Photos and Videos as Lies?

[Skidmore]

12. I wish I knew. Sometimes I think it is just laziness or relying on

others to do the job for them. At any rate, I do think it is important to give swift and strident feedback when you see it and demand a correction. I was pleased to see the manner in which they made the correction though. It was a serious misrepresentation.

[KoKo]

14. Thanks, again for you efforts...I don't watch MSM...and wouldn't have known about Sawyers Lie

until it got on the INTERNET.

I wish more MSM Watchers would do what you did.

[malaise]

9. They should all apologize for their biased coverage

It is sickening

[KoKo]

11. BUT...OMG...you try to post from "International Sites" and you are a COMMUNIST OR WORSE...!

It's meant to be discouraging.......

[malaise]

19. But remember RT is not credible

but ABC now. Just read about the latest re Rather and Donahue and Bushco's war. The self interested corporate media made RT look like old time NPR

[KoKo]

20. yes...there's that..n/t

[Purveyor]

35. Unfortunately there is a gaggle of LBN hosts who will lock RT/RIA out of hand

without even perusing the news content of the article.

They are just lick-spittle for the MSM but ask them and they will jump up and down proclaiming there is no censorship on this forum.

As a LBN host, I object to the locking of these foreign sources especially when they are emanating out of a major world power, i.e. Russia, China, et.al. Talk about burying ones head in the sand.

[KoKo]

40. I know...and yes..it's frustrating ...especially since...

our own Party promotes Global Trade, Communications and Monetary Standards. But...NEWS from varying sources? NO!

Much hypocrisy...

[Skidmore]

44. I've been thinking about accuracy in the media and

I know that there are these organizations out there that seek to "monitor" reporting of the news but there is something quite divorced from immediacy about an organization. I would like to see a citizen's "truth brigade" that volunteers to provide immediate demands for retractions and corrections rather than having to hem and haw about such actions and how they mesh with their other agendas in meetings before issuing tepid and carefully worded statements. This is something we can do.

[malaise]

45. That's an excellent idea

The first thing I ask myself when I hear or read news is what is the agenda of that/those particular owner(s).
Then I seek the facts elsewhere and draw my own conclusions. But they ought to be called on their deliberate lies, misinformation and propaganda. I like your idea.

[Skidmore]

46. DU has a Propaganda Debunking group but it appears to be more focused on

election/party stories. I think we need a group with a broader scope that deals with media stories on policy and events rather than the just the nuances of political debate and gamesmanship.

[malaise]

47. Agreed

[cpwm17]

15. I don't live long enough to waste my time watching that biased, obscene trash from our media n/t

[Purveyor]

31. Must be the heat in the kitchen got a bit hot because Sawyer did apoligize

and correct herself on this evenings broadcast.

BTW..."They" knew exactly what they were doing when misreporting the first account but didn't get away with it.

[tabasco]

34. Was she drunk?

She thinks that's fucking Israel?

[pa28]

37. She's not stupid. She knew exactly what she was doing.

ABC and Sawyer were just surprised at being caught and called out.