HonestReporting
HonestReporting (HR; also Honest Reporting or honestreporting.com) is a non-governmental organization that describes its mission as "to ensure truth, integrity and fairness, and to combat ideological prejudice in journalism and the media, as it impacts Israel"[1] and has been described by several news outlets as a "pro-Israel media watchdog".[2] The organization is a United States 501(c)3 registered charity headquartered in New York City, with its editorial staff based in Jerusalem.
History
HonestReporting was founded in October 2000 by Shaul Rosenblatt, founder and head of
Within six weeks, HonestReporting had an email list of 10,000 volunteers to monitor the media and respond accordingly. Irwin Katsof offered to lead fundraising efforts to hire professional staff.[6]
By 2003 the list had 150,000 subscribers and began raising funds for it to become an independent organization. In 2003, HonestReporting Canada (HRC) was founded as an "independent,
The Chief Executive Officer of HonestReporting is Jacki Alexander.
Outside the United States
In March 2006, a dedicated website by HonestReporting for covering the Media in the UK was launched by two expatriate Britons, CEO Joe Hyams, and Managing Editor Simon Plosker.[11] In 2011, the HR UK website was merged into the main site.[12]
HonestReporting Canada (HRC) was founded as an independent group in 2003 to monitor Middle East news coverage in Canada. Journalist Jonathan Kay credited HRC with reducing perceived anti-Israel bias in the English-language media in Canada by 2011.[13][14] In 2012, a campaign by HRC led to a Canadian Broadcast Standards Council investigation after local politician Stéphane Gendron made controversial comments on the French-language V Television Network.[15]
Activities
HonestReporting reviews news articles and op-eds regarding Israel to check for and respond to any bias or fake news.[16][17] They create and distribute content and tools for readers to understand news about Israel from a fair perspective.[18] They hold in-person and on-line events with experts about how the Jewish people and Israel is portrayed in the media.[19] HonestReporting is not a news organization, and therefore does not seek to follow Journalism ethics and standards.[20]
HonestReporting's actions have resulted in a number of corrections in the media[21][22] including:
Idris Muktar Ibrahim, a producer at CNN, was found to have written on Twitter praise for Hamas and in a separate tweet posted "#TeamHitler."[23] After HonestReporting contacted CNN about the producer's ability to report impartially, CNN ended their working relationship with him.[24] He later apologized.[25]
In 2012, HonestReporting filed a complaint with the Press Complaints Commission (PCC) in the UK after The Guardian ran a correction apologizing for having called Jerusalem Israel's capital, contrary to the paper's style guide. HonestReporting acted to initiate a judicial review after the PCC initially ruled that the The Guardian had not breached the PCC code, saying that the ruling had "potential to further delegitimize Jerusalem’s status as Israel’s capital." The PCC retracted its original ruling and asked the paper to defend its position. The Guardian, then modified its style guide so that it no longer categorically states that Tel Aviv is the capital of Israel rather than Jerusalem.[26]
Award-winning journalist Shatha Hammad was discovered to have posted on Facebook that she was friends with Adolf Hitler[27] and that they "share the same ideology, such as the extermination of the Jews"[28] Hammad made other posts using the nickname "Hitler" and denying Israel's right to exist.[29] She also termed terrorists who murdered Israeli worshippers in the 2014 Jerusalem synagogue attack as "martyrs." After HonestReporting's exposure of her posts, the Thomson Reuters Foundation and the Kurt Schork Memorial Fund withdrew the awards they had granted her.[30]
News producer Fady Hanona was discovered to have posted Anti-semitic social media posts by HonestReporting,[31][32] leading news outlets he previously worked for such as The New York Times, The Guardian, and others to cut ties with him.[33]
Criticism
The American Journalism Review described the organisation as a "pro-Israeli pressure group".[34]
After being criticized by HonestReporting for articles published by The Independent, author Robert Fisk wrote in the Independent that some of their readers sent him hate-mail.[35]
Following a 2004 article published in the
During the
See also
- Committee for Accuracy in Middle East Reporting in America
- Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting
- Jewish Internet Defense Force
- Media bias
- Media coverage of the Arab–Israeli conflict
- Media Watch International
References
- ^ HonestReporting (2023). "About". HonestReporting. Archived from the original on January 2, 2024. Retrieved January 5, 2024.
- ^ "Gil Hoffman". The Jerusalem Post. 2024. Retrieved January 5, 2024.
- ^ "Carnage for the Cameras". The Wall Street Journal. October 6, 2000. Archived from the original on September 30, 2021. Retrieved September 30, 2021.
- ^ Koltermann, Felix (2017). Fotoreporter im Konflikt: Der internationale Fotojournalismus in Israel/Palästina. Bielefeld: transcript Verlag. pp. 25 n.3.
- ^ "The Photo that Started it All". Honest Reporting. Archived from the original on October 3, 2021. Retrieved September 30, 2021.
- ^ ISBN 978-1946351876. Retrieved November 30, 2023.
- ^ Honest Reporting Canada mission statement page, mentioning the foundation of the Canadian organization. Honest Reporting Canada website
- ^ About HonestReporting with links to legal documents (Hebrew), on Israel Toremet fundraising website
- The Algemeiner. Retrieved January 10, 2023.
- ^ "HonestReporting announces appointment of Gil Hoffman as new executive director". Religion News Service. May 25, 2022. Retrieved January 10, 2023.
- ^ "HonestReporting Launches UK Site". TJ News Archive. Archived from the original on August 24, 2014. Retrieved May 17, 2016.
- ^ "HR: Elevating Action Against the UK Media". HonestReporting. August 3, 2011. Retrieved May 17, 2016.
- ^ Glinter, Ezra (October 11, 2007). "Films at Concordia cause controversy". Canadian Jewish News. Archived from the original on October 13, 2007.
- ^ Kay, Jonathan (November 4, 2011). "Jonathan Kay on Stéphane Gendron, Quebec's Israel-hater en chef". National Post. Retrieved December 1, 2023.
- ^ "Quebec mayor under fire for anti-Israel remarks". CBC. January 6, 2012. Retrieved December 1, 2023.
- i24NEWS. Retrieved January 10, 2023.
HonestReporting executive director Gil Hoffman stated: "The credibility of the investigations of Al Jazeera in probing Abu Akleh's death are questionable now that HonestReporting exposed their chief witness as an active member of a murderous terrorist organization.
- ^ "Time Retracts Claim That Israeli Troops Harvested Palestinian Organs". Haaretz. August 25, 2014. Retrieved January 10, 2023.
- ^ Jensen, Elizabeth (January 25, 2016). "NPR's Error-Filled Map: An Explanation". NPR.org. Retrieved January 10, 2023.
- ^ "JNF inaugurates breakfast for Israel". Jewish Standard. May 4, 2017. Retrieved January 10, 2023.
- ^ a b Balmer, Crispian. "HonestReporting accepts news groups had no prior warning of Oct. 7 Hamas attack". Reuters.
- ^ "Search for "success"". HonestReporting. Retrieved May 24, 2016.
- ^ Puni, Ran (January 3, 2022). "'Anti-Israel agenda in global media has personal motivations'". Israel Hayom. Retrieved January 10, 2023.
- ^ "CNN Cans Producer Idris Mukhtar Ibrahim After He Posts About Praising Hamas Terrorism & Writing '#TeamHitler' On Twitter". MSN. November 19, 2022. Retrieved January 10, 2023.
- ^ Halon, Yael; Grossman, Hannah (November 18, 2022). "CNN drops producer Idris Mukhtar Ibrahim over Hamas praise, '#TeamHitler' post". New York Post. Retrieved January 10, 2023.
- Tuko. Retrieved January 10, 2023.
- Times of Israel. Retrieved February 29, 2024.
- ^ Halon, Yael (October 19, 2022). "Reuters rescinds award from Palestinian journalist following surfaced social media posts praising Hitler". Fox News. Retrieved January 10, 2023.
- ^ "Palestinian journalist stripped of award over antisemitic comments". Arab News. October 21, 2022. Retrieved January 10, 2023.
- )
- ^ Ben-David, Daniel (October 19, 2022). "Reuters strips award from Palestinian journalist after she said 'I'm friends with Hitler'". The Jewish Chronicle. Retrieved January 10, 2023.
On Sunday, media watchdog HonestReporting uncovered posts made by Shatha Hammad, a freelance journalist who has written for Middle East Eye and Al Jazeera, in which she signed off her Facebook comments using the nickname "Hitler".
- ^ "NY Times cuts ties with Gaza freelancer who called to kill Jews 'like Hitler did'". The Times of Israel. Retrieved January 10, 2023.
- ^ Kesslen, Ben (August 15, 2022). "NY Times cuts ties with freelancer who called for killing Jews 'like Hitler did'". New York Post. Retrieved January 10, 2023.
- ^ Clarke, Tyrone (August 22, 2022). "The Guardian and the ABC join global media outlets in cutting ties with anti-Semitic freelance journalist Fady Hanona". Sky News. Retrieved January 10, 2023.
- ^ Matusow, Barbara (June–July 2004). "Caught in the Crossfire". American Journalism Review. Archived from the original on June 13, 2010. Retrieved March 14, 2012.
- ^ Fisk, Robert (May 28, 2001). "The internet threat to truly honest reporting". The Independent. Retrieved March 3, 2011.[dead link]
- S2CID 34867504. Retrieved May 12, 2012.
- S2CID 7160405. Retrieved May 12, 2012.
- ^ Finkelstein, Daniel (March 5, 2009). "Medical journal made me ill". The Jewish Chronicle. Retrieved July 25, 2012.
- ^ "Media watchdog says it was just 'raising questions' with insinuations about photographers and Hamas". AP News. November 9, 2023. Retrieved November 10, 2023.
- ^ a b "Reuters denies any suggestion it had prior knowledge of Oct. 7 Hamas attack on Israel". Reuters. November 9, 2023. Retrieved November 10, 2023.
- ^ Oliver Darcy (November 10, 2023). "News outlets deny prior knowledge of Hamas attack after Israeli government demands answers over misleading report". CNN.
- ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved November 10, 2023.
- ^ David McCraw (February 24, 2024). "Response from The New York Times to the Office of the Consulate General of Israel Regarding Yousef Masoud".
External links
- Honest Reporting official website
- Honest Reporting Canada: the official Canadian affiliate
- HonestReporting.org, which reports critically on HonestReporting
- Media manipulators by David Leigh in The Guardian, criticizing HonestReporting
- HonestReporting.com's response Archived August 5, 2011, at the Wayback Machine to the "Media manipulators" article, at Aish.com