I find it ironic that so many in the media who claim President Bush is in denial over the status of the war in Iraq do a good bit of denying themselves when anyone calls them on bias or questionable reporting.With so much evidence stacking up, from Rathergate to the fauxtography pictures to the recent Burning Six story, the credibility of media outlets like the AP and Reuters has taken serious hits. If those in the mainstream media don't acknowledge recent problems and take action to address them, their credibility will continue to erode. I have more on this topic in my column at Townhall today.
Update: Robert Bateman believes the AP is in denial too.
But the Iraqi government and the U.S. Army have long warned the AP about its use of "spokesmen" who don't exist. Indeed this time it appears that there is no such officer in the Iraqi police force in Baghdad. More, they could find no evidence of such an attack (though they did see that one mosque had been hit with some gasoline and had some smoke and scorching damage in the entryway).Be sure to read the entire column to hear an additional (and incredible) example of bad behavior by the Associated Press. The problems we are seeing now with some reports, especially coming out of the Middle East, are evidently nothing new. Just as the Rathergate story made me wonder how many other "fake, but accurate" stories had been reported through the years, these make me wonder just how widespread the bad reporting is. Hat tip to Lucianne.Did the AP retract or reinvestigate? Nah. Instead, in a follow-up story a few days later, it simply noted the old (2005) news about efforts to plant Coalition press releases in the Iraqi media, accused the Iraqis of censorship and claimed that it had found three more (anonymous, naturally) witnesses. In effect, AP said that, no matter what the Iraqi police headquarters said, Hussein is one of its spokesmen after all.
Bizarrely, it seems that not even Iraqi Sunni politicians believe the AP story; even the radical Association of Muslim Scholars hasn't embraced the account. But we here are supposed to anyway. After all, AP doesn't make mistakes.
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Comments (12)
I don't know who is in De N... (Below threshold)1. Posted by epador | December 8, 2006 4:38 AM | Score: 0 (0 votes cast)
I don't know who is in De Nile, but Lee must have finally gotten into De Bed since I beat him on this thread.
1. Posted by epador | December 8, 2006 4:38 AM |
Score: 0 (0 votes cast)
Posted on December 8, 2006 04:38
2. Posted by SShiell | December 8, 2006 9:35 AM | Score: 0 (0 votes cast)
Lee must be crafting one of his multi-page, multi-link atrocities to answer this one - or else he is busy with his milk and cookies.
2. Posted by SShiell | December 8, 2006 9:35 AM |
Score: 0 (0 votes cast)
Posted on December 8, 2006 09:35
3. Posted by MyPetGloat | December 8, 2006 9:43 AM | Score: 0 (0 votes cast)
Shorter Lorie:
"CBS, AP, MSM, All liars! Bad! Bad ! BAD!!
I'll show those charleteons from my even more biased Town Hall column!!"
I'm sure everyone who reads it will still believe you, Lorie.
All two of them.
3. Posted by MyPetGloat | December 8, 2006 9:43 AM |
Score: 0 (0 votes cast)
Posted on December 8, 2006 09:43
4. Posted by jhow66 | December 8, 2006 9:51 AM | Score: 0 (0 votes cast)
Make that 3 "mypetgoathumper" as I believe her.
4. Posted by jhow66 | December 8, 2006 9:51 AM |
Score: 0 (0 votes cast)
Posted on December 8, 2006 09:51
5. Posted by P. Bunyan | December 8, 2006 10:19 AM | Score: 0 (0 votes cast)
It's really to be expected. After all, only about 5-10% of all the true facts support the worldwiew of people like MyPetGloat, Lee, and the MSM reporters. That's why I call them members of the "Fabricated Reality Based Community".
5. Posted by P. Bunyan | December 8, 2006 10:19 AM |
Score: 0 (0 votes cast)
Posted on December 8, 2006 10:19
6. Posted by Robert | December 8, 2006 10:36 AM | Score: 0 (0 votes cast)
I have it on good authority that Lee is in court defending himself against the charge of attempted murder of English, his native language.
As you know he has gone to great lengths to establish an insanity defense. As it stands now, it is a close thing and could go either way.
We can only hope for a favorable judgment and a quick release, so that he may soon be returned to the prison of his own manufacture.
Failing that, he will be readmitted to the padded cell at Bellview and occasionally released from the straight jacket for exercise and to comment in this blog.
6. Posted by Robert | December 8, 2006 10:36 AM |
Score: 0 (0 votes cast)
Posted on December 8, 2006 10:36
7. Posted by nikkolai | December 8, 2006 12:46 PM | Score: 0 (0 votes cast)
The MSM simply bend any "news" they find to the shape of their f'ed up left-wing world view. No wonder they are all circling the drain. Good riddance.
7. Posted by nikkolai | December 8, 2006 12:46 PM |
Score: 0 (0 votes cast)
Posted on December 8, 2006 12:46
8. Posted by Robert | December 8, 2006 1:48 PM | Score: 0 (0 votes cast)
Of course the MSM (i.e. Corporate Media) are left-wing biased.
They can only trusr the Left to do what the corporations want. They certainly can't trust the anti-business Right.
General Electric-owned NBC practically didn't cheerlead the disatrous Iraq War.
Please think it through before you type your talking points.
8. Posted by Robert | December 8, 2006 1:48 PM |
Score: 0 (0 votes cast)
Posted on December 8, 2006 13:48
9. Posted by nikkolai | December 8, 2006 1:56 PM | Score: 0 (0 votes cast)
That last comment was as incoherant a babble as I've seen in a while. I can't even muster up a response.
9. Posted by nikkolai | December 8, 2006 1:56 PM |
Score: 0 (0 votes cast)
Posted on December 8, 2006 13:56
10. Posted by P. Bunyan | December 8, 2006 3:22 PM | Score: 0 (0 votes cast)
Robert,
I hate to cause your whole socialist regressive worldview to come crashing down around you, but perhaps, just perhaps, those evil corporations are not all run by neocons as you assume. I could give you examples, but if you paid even the slightest bit of attention I wouldn't need to.
Please try to think just a little bit before posting your disingenuous left wing talking points.
10. Posted by P. Bunyan | December 8, 2006 3:22 PM |
Score: 0 (0 votes cast)
Posted on December 8, 2006 15:22
11. Posted by robert the original | December 8, 2006 5:29 PM | Score: 0 (0 votes cast)
My only wish this Christmas season is to have that other Robert identify himself in some other way when I am already in on a thread.
It is insufferable to think that others may attribute these mindless comments to me.
So please, Robert, identify yourself as "Robert the fool" or "Robert the dickless" when I am already in.
Thank you
11. Posted by robert the original | December 8, 2006 5:29 PM |
Score: 0 (0 votes cast)
Posted on December 8, 2006 17:29
12. Posted by jhow66 | December 8, 2006 10:23 PM | Score: 0 (0 votes cast)
Wheee! Had me rubbing me eyes there for a minute on the Robert Robert deal. Thanks for clearing it up.
12. Posted by jhow66 | December 8, 2006 10:23 PM |
Score: 0 (0 votes cast)
Posted on December 8, 2006 22:23