HonestReporting
HonestReporting is an project of not-for-profit websites in the U.S., Canada, Israel, and the U.K., which monitor news media for unfairness to Israel. Their initial funding came from Aish HaTorah.[1] The organization is one of a growing number involved in media monitoring, which is certainly not limited to Israel or the Middle East. Along with academic monitoring, proponents say it increases accuracy and fairness, while opponents are concerned it can have a chilling effect on free speech.[2]
US Gary Kenzer and Canadian Mike Fegelman Executive Directors are members of the Hasbara Speakers Bureau.
HonestReporting called Christiane Amanpour's "God's Warrior" series on religious violence, "Hard on Jews, soft on Islam." They criticized interviews with Jimmy Carter as well as John Mearsheimer, but said the show would have had more balance had it used Brigitte Gabriel, Salim Mansur, Steven Emerson or Khaleel Mohammed, [3]
The Guardian reported a letter-writing campaign to them traced back to a HonestReporting bulletin, entitled "The Guardian: a mainstream British newspaper consistently blames Israel for everything." Guardian research showed the British HonestReporting website was linked to Media Watch International in New York City, and the specific bulletin was composed by Shraga Simmons, who works for Aish HaTorah in Israel.[4] Honest Reporting gave the Guardian the 2008 "Most Questionable Terror Links: The Guardian" award for providing a link to Hamas's military wing, somehow "legitimizing" it. [5]
It is among organizations, such as the Clarion Fund associated with the distribution of the film "Obsession: Radical Islam's War Against the West" during the 2008 U.S. Presidential campaign. The Tampa Bay Times said Media Watch International had taken over HonestReporting and produced the film. [6] The Council on American Islamic Relations filed a Federal Election Commission complaint about the film.
References
- ↑ Our Historys, HonestReporting
- ↑ Manfred Gerstenfeld and Ben Green (Fall 2004), "Watching the Pro-Israeli Media Watchers", Jewish Political Studies Review 16: 3-4
- ↑ Christiane Amanpour (22-24 August 2007), "CNN's "God's Warriors": Hard on Jews, Soft on Islam", CNN
- ↑ David Leigh (22 February 2001), "Media manipulators: How a north London web-designer began a campaign that deluged the Guardian with emails", The Guardian
- ↑ ""Most Questionable Terror Links: The Guardian"", Honest Reporting, 2008
- ↑ Meg Laughlin (26 September 2008), "Senders of Islam movie 'Obsession' tied to Jewish charity", Tampa Bay Times