Happy Saturday. Let's check in on the media this past week.
Fact-checking the fact checkers: For some journalists, the real victims of Hamas's massacre of more than 1,000 Israelis last weekend were the terrorists.
Reporters at prominent news outlets warned that accounts of the Palestinian barbarians beheading babies they killed lacked sufficient confirmation. The "disinformation" could stoke "Islamophobia" and put Islamist terrorist
All decent people were horrified by reports from Israel this week that Hamas terrorists beheaded babies during a bloody rampage through the county that sparked a war. For some journalists, though, the horror was not that the Israeli babies were massacred but that accounts of the killings might make Islamist terrorists look bad.
Snopes, Oct. 13: "Were Israeli Babies Beheaded by Hamas Militants During Attack on Kfar Aza?":
As violence escalated in Israel and Palestine in early October 2023, politicians, news media, and activists in the U.S. and U.K. spread a rumor about Hamas fighters supposedly beheading as many as 40 Israeli infants. As we looked into the claim, we found contradictory reports from journalists, Israeli army officials, and almost no independent corroborations of the alleged war crime, leading to concerns among fact-checkers that such a claim may be premature or unsubstantiated. ...
People should be wary of claims that echo Islamophobic rhetoric, or statements that compare the violence in Kfar Aza to "ISIS-style" killings—i.e., beheadings that have taken place in a different context and were committed by a different group. Such rumors that emphasize specific, unverified acts of brutality against infants and that attempt to connect them to patterns of violence carried out by unconnected Islamist groups have the potential to become dangerous propaganda.
The media were not alone in denying the beheadings.
"The Palestinian Islamic Resistance Movement Hamas has strongly dismissed the false claims promoted by some Western media outlets, such as Palestinian freedom fighters killing children and targeting civilians," Hamas said Wednesday on its Telegram channel.
Hamas posted a video on Telegram Thursday that appears to show its members abducting an infant and a toddler from Holit, one of the southern Israeli border towns the Iran-backed terrorist group overran last weekend. The caption describes the terrorists as "showing compassion for children."
The facts: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office released Thursday what it described as "horrifying photos of babies murdered and burned by the Hamas monsters."
https://twitter.com/IsraeliPM/status/1712471782303867144
Children, women, and the elderly were among some 1,300 people killed and 200 taken hostage by Hamas, including a number of Americans. Much of Hamas's barbarity was documented in gory videos that the Iran-backed terrorist group posted online.
Israel has declined to officially confirm that babies were beheaded, and the Israeli military spokesperson's office did not respond Friday to the Washington Free Beacon's request for comment. But an Israeli military spokeswoman and a reporter at Israel's i24 News separately this week said that soldiers told them of seeing children and babies beheaded at Kfar Aza, another terrorized community near the border of the Hamas-run Gaza Strip.
Yossi Landau, the head of operations for the southern region of Zaka, a volunteer emergency response group in Israel, told CBS News on Wednesday that he saw with his own eyes children and babies who had been beheaded.
"I saw a lot more that cannot be described for now," he added, speaking of bodies of parents and children that showed clear signs of torture, "because it's very hard to describe."
Media bubble: Following the barbaric terrorist attack over the weekend that left over 1,000 Israelis dead, the media are mad...at Israel, rolling out content that could've been printed by Hamas itself.
Reuters: "A Brief History of Gaza's 75 Years of Woe":
In 2000, Israeli-Palestinian relations sank to a new low with the outbreak of the second Palestinian intifada. It ushered in a period of suicide bombings and shooting attacks by Palestinians, and Israeli air strikes, demolitions, no-go zones and curfews. ...
On Oct.7, Hamas gunmen launched a surprise attack on Israel, rampaging through towns, killing hundreds, and taking dozens of hostages back to Gaza. Israel took revenge, hammering Gaza with air strikes and razing entire districts in some of the worst blood-letting in the 75 years of conflict.
Washington Post: "Gaza Strip Explained: Who Controls It and What To Know":
The coordinated attack by Hamas caught Israel by surprise but comes after months of worsening tensions over violence at Al-Aqsa Mosque—a sacred Muslim site in the heart of Jerusalem located on the same spot as the Temple Mount revered by Jews—as well as continuing resentment of the punishing blockade and occupation of Palestinian lands. The presence of once-fringe Jewish supremacists and settler leaders in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's hard-right government has further inflamed tensions with the Palestinians and caused domestic strife inside Israel that has led to a perception of weakness.
NPR: "How the Al-Aqsa Mosque Became a Flashpoint in the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict":
[Pro-Palestinian activist Yousef Munayyer:] You know, the Palestinians who live in the Gaza Strip, the vast majority of them—they've been refugees living inside of Gaza for 75 years. And this is, of course, compounded by decades of military occupation and, in the last decade and a half, a brutal siege of the Gaza Strip, which has held 2 million Palestinians there hostage. In recent years and months, the escalation of violence against Palestinians has been noted by the United Nations and governments throughout the region who've been warning that this escalation of Israeli violence against Palestinians is going to lead to an explosion in the region.
New York Times: "Gaza Has Suffered Under 16-Year Blockade":
For some Gazans, Saturday morning's surprise Palestinian attack into southern Israel seemed a justified response to a 16-year Israeli blockade. Others worried that the coordinated attack would only add to Gaza's misery as the tiny enclave braced for a large-scale response from Israel.
The Palestinian territory of Gaza has been under a suffocating Israeli blockade, backed by Egypt, since Hamas seized control of the coastal strip in 2007. The blockade restricts the import of goods, including electronic and computer equipment, that could be used to make weapons and prevents most people from leaving the territory.
And some reporters covering the conflict are actual Nazis while others discussing the attacks endorsed violent terrorism.
The sentiment is surely finding a receptive audience, as support for not just the Palestinians but for Hamas terrorists has run rampant across other left-wing institutions, from the top of the academe to local BLM chapters.
Those media takes about how BLM protestors shouldn't be harshly described might need to be revisited.
Associated Press: "Police Guide That Calls BLM a Terrorist Group Draws Outrage":
A prominent law enforcement training group is promoting a lengthy research document riddled with falsehoods and conspiracies that urges local police to treat Black Lives Matter activists as terrorists plotting a violent revolution.
NBC News: "'Not by Accident': False 'Thug' Narratives Have Long Been Used to Discredit Civil Rights Movements":
President Donald Trump has developed a harsh vocabulary list for those involved in the Black Lives Matter protests, calling those in the streets everything from "terrorists" and "anarchists" to "thugs."
CNN: "Trump Calls Protesters ‘Thugs’ Despite Peaceful Demonstrations in Tulsa And Much of The US":
Later, the President said there were "very bad people" outside, describing protesters as "thugs." ...
Earlier, the Trump campaign blamed what they described as "radical protesters" for preventing people from entering the rally. Several CNN teams in Tulsa did not see any of that type of activity.
Republicans pounce: Hamas's vicious attack placed a harsh spotlight on Biden's August decision to free up $6 billion for the group's chief financial backer, Iran. Despite years of support from the Islamic Republic to train, equip and finance the group who committed a massive terrorist attack, the media jumped in to dispute the claims of Republicans who had "seized" on the connection and tried to "politicize" the tragedy.
CBS News: "GOP Links $6 Billion in Iran Prisoner Swap to Hamas Attack on Israel, But Biden Officials Say Funds Are Untouched":
The Biden administration pushed back on claims that a prisoner swap with Iran last month helped fuel the terrorist attack on Israel.
After Hamas militants launched a surprise attack on Israel early Saturday, Republicans were quick to connect, without evidence, the assault to the $6 billion in funds that were unfrozen as part of the prisoner swap between the U.S. and Iran in September.
NBC News: "2024 GOP Presidential Contenders Blame Biden For Hamas Attacks on Israel":
Several of [the GOP candidates] baselessly claimed the U.S. funded the attacks as a result of the prisoner exchange deal with Iran. ...
The Biden administration rebutted the GOP criticism, saying the $6 billion in oil revenue to which Iran regained access recently did not come from U.S. taxpayer dollars.
The media clung to early reports that claimed Iran, who deliberately tries to ensure plausible deniability about the terrorist groups they support, was surprised by the attack, and suggested that maybe Iran wasn't as aware as Republicans alleged.
But then, Biden threw the media under the bus, refreezing the $6 billion and blaming the Hamas attacks for the decision. All that (not very compelling) spin for nothing.
Truth to power: That indicted New Jersey Democrat Bob Menendez is still in the Senate -- and running for re-election -- may trouble Democrats but, according to Politico, they are "doing little about it other than cross their fingers and hope he goes away." It's much different from the standard the media set for Republicans with former President Donald Trump, where his every tweet and dinner party led the media to demand a comment. That has continued since Trump, like Menendez, was indicted.
NBC News: "Most Republicans in Biden-won districts don't want to talk about Trump indictment":
Most of the 18 House Republicans who represent districts that voted for President Joe Biden don’t want to talk about the elephant in the room: Donald Trump, the former president and front-runner for the 2024 GOP nomination, and his federal indictment over mishandled classified information.
USA Today: "Republican Leaders Mostly Silent Over Donald Trump's Call to Suspend The Constitution":
Higher-ranking Republicans remained silent, while Democrats and others condemned what some described as a call for dictatorship. ...
[Rep. Dave] Joyce also said, "I can't be really chasing every one of these crazy statements."
PBS: "We Asked 57 Republican Lawmakers if They Condemn Trump’s Dinner With Fuentes And Ye. Here’s What They Said.":
In response to Trump’s dinner with Fuentes and Ye, we asked every Republican Senator and every member of Republican House leadership if they thought the meeting was appropriate, and if they condemned it. We also looked through the public statements of these lawmakers to collect any reactions to Trump’s dinner.
NBC News: "Only 3 Senate Republicans Aren't Defending Trump From The Impeachment Inquiry. Here's Why.":
For those Senate Republicans who are refusing to condemn the House-led impeachment inquiry, three may be the loneliest number.
While a resolution denouncing the House Democrats' fast-moving probe hasn't received a vote, GOP Sens. Mitt Romney of Utah, Susan Collins of Maine and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska declined to sign on as co-sponsors — the only ones out of 53 Republicans — leaving the door ajar to the possibility that they could vote to convict President Donald Trump if impeachment moves to its trial phase in the Senate.
Vox News: "The GOP Silence in Response to Trump’s Latest Racist Attack is Deafening":
But if you expected Republican members of Congress to come to the defense of the duly-elected women Trump targeted — though he didn’t mention them by name, it’s likely he meant Reps. Ilhan Omar, Rashida Tlaib, Ayanna Pressley, and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, all of whom are US citizens, and three of whom were born in the United States (Omar was born in Somalia and emigrated to the US at 10 years old) — think again.
Until Monday, the closest any Republican lawmaker had come to denouncing Trump was Rep. Chip Roy (R-TX), but even he couched criticism of Trump’s tweets within a broader defense of his immigration policies and sentiments.
Gone are the days of denouncement flow-charts and graphs tracking how every member of a caucus reacted to a tweet, apparently.
New York Times: "How Republican Lawmakers Responded to Trump’s Russian Meddling Denial":
Sidestepped or Did Not Denounce the President’s Comments
Many Republicans tempered their remarks to affirm that Russia remains an adversary without criticizing Mr. Trump directly.
Washington Post: "Why Didn’t More Congressional Republicans Condemn Trump’s Racist Tweets About The ‘Squad’? This Graph Explains.":
A Washington Post team collected 99 GOP lawmakers’ reactions to Trump’s inflammatory comments taunting four progressive Democrats — the "Squad" of Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (N.Y.), Ilhan Omar (Minn.), Ayanna Pressley (Mass.), and Rashida Tlaib (Mich.) — by telling them to "go back and help fix the totally broken and crime infested places from which they came."
Wet blankets: In recent years, the media have taken it upon themselves to take countless things that everyday Americans enjoy, from Spotify to camping and beyond, and explain why they are actually problematic.
Washington Post: "Spotify has a white supremacist problem, watchdog says"
CNN: "Everyday words and phrases that have racist connotations"
NPR: "The U.S. Now Ranks As A 'Problematic' Place For Journalists"
NPR: "Dr. Seuss Books Can Be Racist, But Students Keep Reading Them"
The responsibility is year round, but the falling leaves of Autumn seem to bring out renewed vigor for the press. The latest normal thing the press doesn't think you should enjoy is a stand-in for the season itself: pumpkin spice. As Washington Post reports:, it has a hidden, violent history:
Photos of Starbucks’s Pumpkin Spice Latte, however, remind Clulow of still-life paintings by Dutch masters from the 17th century.
Still Life with a Turkey Pie, painted by Pieter Claesz in 1627, depicts a table filled with luxurious products: olives, savory pies, fruits, nutmeg and cloves.
He described the painting as the "ultimate symbol of stunningly opulent, globalized consumption in the 17th century."
"It’s the same with these Starbucks lattes," he said. "You’re getting stuff from all over the world and repackaging it for wealthy consumers without acknowledging the history of the ingredients."
With Halloween quickly approaching, get ready for more.
Biden age counter: The top concern from American voters in poll after poll is Biden's advancing age and what it means for his mental capacity. But since Biden won't discuss the issue head-on, the media have thrown up their arms and concluded that we'll never get to the bottom of whether the octogenarian president's age is an issue.
It's a far cry from the way the press treated the former president when they had questions about his mental well-being. Back then it was fashionable for the media to make much stronger claims about the supposed mental shortcomings of a president.
New York Times: "Trump’s Halting Walk Down Ramp Raises New Health Questions"
Washington Post: "CIA Psychological Profiler Who Labeled Trump ‘Dangerous’ Dies of Covid-19 at 86"
CNN: "Doctors Want President Trump’s Head Examined"
Stay safe out there, and see you next week.