The Daily Background

Okay what the hell, Associated Press? Seriously just what the hell. You’re a very trusted name in print news (for good reason), but sometimes you guys seriously slip up.

Remember a few days ago when it was reported that a UN observation post had been caught in the crossfire on the border between Lebanon and Israel? I mentioned it when it happened but it wasn’t immediately clear who had struck the base. Well, Associated Press ran an article that reported the following:

A U.N.-run observation post just inside Israel was struck during fighting between Israel and Hezbollah militants on Friday. The Israeli army blamed Hezbollah rockets but a U.N. officer said it was an artillery shell fired by the Israeli Defense Force.

A U.N. officer, speaking on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the situation, said an artillery shell fired by Israel made “a direct hit on the U.N. position overlooking Zarit.” The post is part of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon.

But an IDF spokesman said the position was hit by rockets fired by Hezbollah that fell short of their targets in northern Israel.

Okay, it sounds like there’s some disagreement about who hit it. Either you believe the Israeli military which blames Hezbollah (gee, no obvious bias there), OR you believe the United Nations, who were the ones who were actually hit by the missiles, and who are the ones who are actually there.

The same article even notes that Israel has a history of bombing UN bases:

In 1996, during an Israeli air and artillery offensive against Lebanon, artillery blasted a U.N. base at Qana in southern Lebanon, killing more than 100 Lebanese civilians who had taken refuge with the peacekeepers.

The absolute least Associated Press could do is to say say that it’s unclear who hit the UN outpost. But nooooo. They have to give the article a completely unambiguous and deceitful title like:

Hezbollah rockets hit UN observation post

Seriously, what the hell. Talk about entirely dishonest headlines. Full article.

Filed under: Middle East Crisis, News Media, Z-TDB Blog