Below is my column in the New York Post on the Associated Press guideline for reporters to avoid calling Hamas a terrorist organization. Voice of America and other media outlets have made the same decision. This is not about supporting the Palestinian cause. It is about correctly describing a group that commits terrorist attacks as a terrorist organization.
Here is the column:
Confucius once said that “the beginning of wisdom is the ability to call things by their right names.”
That does not appear to be the approach of the Associated Press this week after the media organization told its reporters not to call Hamas fighters “terrorists” after they massacred civilians, raped women, and took a couple hundred hostages from Israel on Oct. 7.
The Voice of America issued its own instruction to avoid calling Hamas “terrorists.”
According to the AP, these fighters are to be called “militants” because the term “terrorist” has “become politicized.”
But there is nothing “politicized” in recognizing that Hamas intentionally targeted civilians, including mowing down unarmed participants at a peace concert.
They burned civilians alive in their homes and raped women.
They intentionally and systemically took civilian hostages, including children and the elderly.
The acts defined the actors. These were terrorist acts and those who committed them were by definition terrorists.
The International Convention for the Suppression of the Financing of Terrorism defines terrorism as “any … act intended to cause death or serious bodily injury to a civilian, or to any other person not taking an active part in the hostilities in a situation of armed conflict, when the purpose of such act, by its nature or context, is to intimidate a population, or to compel a government or an international organization to do or to abstain from doing any act.”
The United Nations Security Council specifically includes with this definition “criminal acts, including against civilians, committed with the intent to cause death or serious bodily injury, or taking of hostages.”
Nevertheless, the Associated Press reportedly issued an “Israel-Hamas Topical Guide,” which noted that “terrorism and terrorist have become politicized, and often are applied inconsistently.” Thus “the AP is not using the terms for specific actions or groups, other than in direct quotations.”
This isn’t the first time the AP has made strikingly artificial language choices.
For example, AP reporters were told to avoid using the word “surge” to describe the record number of migrants crossing the border.
Likewise, when there was violence and looting in various cities after the George Floyd killing, AP told its reporters to use “milder terms” like “unrest” rather than “riots.”
Yet when it came to January 6, AP routinely referred to the riot as an “insurrection” (here, here, here).
Notably, in one article titled “Riot? Insurrection? Words Matter in Describing the Capitol Siege,” the AP noted that other mainstream media were using “riot” but also raised the possible terms “sedition” and “coup attempt.”
For the record, I criticized President Donald Trump’s Jan. 6 speech while he was still giving it and wrote that his theory on the election and the certification challenge was unfounded.
I denounced the riot as a desecration of our constitutional process. However, it was not an insurrection, in my view. It was a protest that became a riot.
AP and some other outlets do not want to call it a riot not because it isn’t accurate, but because it is not sufficiently vilifying.
Conversely, the media are often eager to avoid “riot” as too judgmental.
Reporters actually told a chief of police not to use the word “riot” in reference to violence by protesters against police.
Similarly, as billions in property damages were occurring in various cities, Craig Melvin, an MSNBC host and co-anchor of “Today,” tweeted a “guide” that the images “on the ground” were not to be described as rioting but rather “protests.”
He noted, “This will guide our reporting in MN. While the situation on the ground in Minneapolis is fluid, and there has been violence, it is most accurate at this time to describe what is happening there as ‘protests’ — not riots.”
Polls have shown that most of the public view January 6 as a riot.
A CBS poll showed that 76% viewed it for what it was, a “protest gone too far.” The view that it was an actual “insurrection” was far less settled, with almost half rejecting the claim, a division breaking along partisan lines.
Obviously, people can disagree, but this would seem an obvious example where the AP would refrain from using the most loaded term of “insurrection” given the legal and factual contradictions in such usage.
The concern is that AP is showing bias in the use of such terms. Journalism schools now teach young reporters to follow an advocacy model in “leaving neutrality behind.”
Likewise, Stanford journalism professor Ted Glasser insisted that journalism needed to “free itself from this notion of objectivity to develop a sense of social justice.”
Recently, former executive editor for the Washington Post Leonard Downie Jr. and former CBS News president Andrew Heyward released their survey of leading journalists and outlets and also concluded that objectivity is now considered reactionary and even harmful.
Emilio Garcia-Ruiz, editor-in-chief at the San Francisco Chronicle, said it plainly: “Objectivity has got to go.”
Downie explained that news organizations now “believe that pursuing objectivity can lead to false balance or misleading ‘bothsidesism’ in covering stories about race, the treatment of women, LGBTQ+ rights, income inequality, climate change and many other subjects.
“And, in today’s diversifying newsrooms, they feel it negates many of their own identities, life experiences and cultural contexts, keeping them from pursuing truth in their work.”
That view was echoed by Kathleen Carroll, former executive editor at the Associated Press, who declared, “It’s objective by whose standard? … That standard seems to be White, educated, and fairly wealthy.”
The response of the public has been consistent and clear: Trust in the media is at an all-time low.
Roughly 40% of the public has zero trust in the media. Likewise, 50% of Americans believe that the media lie to them to advance their own agendas.
Much of that distrust has occurred over what were viewed as false descriptions.
The best example was the “Let’s Go Brandon” incident.
In that case, NBC reporter Kelli Stavast was doing an interview with race car driver Brandon Brown after he won his first NASCAR Xfinity Series race.
During the interview, Stavast’s questions were drowned out by loud-and-clear chants of “F—k Joe Biden.” Stavast quickly declared, “You can hear the chants from the crowd, ‘Let’s go, Brandon!’ ”
“Let’s Go Brandon” has become a type of Yankee Doodling of the media by the public. It reflected an exasperation with framing and revisionism by the media in describing events.
There is no greater disconnect than describing an attack killing hundreds of unarmed civilians and taking hundreds of hostages as the acts of “militants.”
There is wisdom that comes from calling things by the right name. This was terrorism.
Jonathan Turley is an attorney and professor at George Washington University Law School.
I read years ago that a middle eastern country bought a stake in the AP.
Lenin and the communists learned a long ago the value of language and of defining the narrative. The AP, MSNBC, CNN, and many others are simply the many prophets of the woke left.
while 50% believe the media lie, 50% do not. Even after the last 8 years, even after Iraq and weapons of mass destruction, even after…
The media knows their customer base better than Bud Light.
So Democrats and the Colleges, Media, Government, etc will LOVE them. The WORSE someone is…the More Democrats LOVE THEM!
They love the millions of illegals stealing jobs and driving down wages, They love drugs…destroy the fabric of society!
Did you see the Pilot high on Mushroom…decided KILLING everyone on board was a GREAT IDEA. Democrats…MORE DRUGS!
@guy
I did see that. It’s OT, but I fail to see any difference between modern idiocy such as that and the failed idiocy of the 60s. Putting foreign chemicals in our brains most definitely has an effect; that is not the same thing as ‘helping’., and being zoned out is not the same thing as being ‘better’. The modern use of these drugs is staggering, and I don’t care if they come from the earth. In its purest original form, so does crack. This is another big, big problem.
“Holy ‘a rose by any other name’, Batman!”
Correction, this is terrorism not this was terrorism. It hasn’t stopped and is escalating.
NAKBA. IT ALL BOILS DOWN TO THIS. The deceptive portrayal of Israelis kicking the Pals out of their territory, when it was they who refused the UN 2 state solution in 1948. The world has bought the myth.
The German American Bund still exists.
The German American Bund still exists.
“. . . Hamas intentionally targeted . . .” (JT)
This is not an issue of mustering more facts. You can point out facts until you’re blue in the face. The delusional will not budge.
They are operating on a corrupt epistemology — the subjectivist notion that their desires and wishes are reality. “Just the facts” is not in their lexicon.
When it comes to false and incendiary language, The Squad is in a class of their own, yet as of this writing, ABC, CBS & NBC have spent ZERO minutes covering their outrageous statements about the terrorist’s actions against Israel or the Squad’s defense of Hamas.
The more I read, the more depressed I become. Have we waited too long to take our country back from the haters?
“It’s objective by whose standard? … That standard seems to be White, educated, and fairly wealthy.”
I guess you’re right. We are responsible for every evil under the sun. Everything is our fault. We’ve never done anything right or good. None of us. Never. Not once. Thanks much for smearing us, for hating us, for condemning all of us. We really appreciate it.
“[T]he Associated Press [. . .] told its reporters not to call Hamas fighters ‘terrorists’ . . .”
Just out of morbid curiosity:
Who does AP consider a terrorist? By what standard? What is its definition of “terrorist?”
As a reminder: The AP, with its willy-nilly “standards,” sets the terms for much of the media.
Well Sam, The Associated Press considered anyone who participated in the J6 protest “insurrectionists” and conspirators to commit treason and sedition.
Like so many things in our woke world, this pronouncement by the AP is almost funny, but sadly not. The pronouncement states that the terms terrorist and terrorism have become politicized and are often used inconsistently. Well, who exactly is responsible for the politicization and inconsistent usage of those terms if not the AP and the rest of the media? Furthermore, according to the AP, the remedy for this situation is to not use these terms in situations where we know that they are rightfully used but, for political reasons, we don’t want to use them. Now, doesn’t that strike you as funny? But, of course, it is not funny. That is the state of our media today. Once again, Stalin would have been pleased to have had such a compliant media.
Pudnhead,
Well said.
Joe Biden is the figure head of the Democrat Party.
But the real boss is being revealed as Humpty Dumpty.
Democrats have long set the vocablary for debate.
Pro abortion, became pro choice.
Joe Biden Printed trillions in new money at the same time he signed his signature Inflation Reduction Act.
But the Sheep that vote Democrat are the victims of Democrat run schools, and believe the silly word games.
We’re all victims of D-run schools, iowan2. In too many ways to count.
The Left loves to mess around with our language, e.g., the “Inflation Reduction Act”, which had nothing to do with reducing inflation. Or those “mostly peaceful protests” where people were killed and buildings burned down. Or a Supreme Court Justice who doesn’t know what a “woman” is. Keep it up Professor.
The “mainstream” media continue to strengthen the case that they are untrustworthy. Our local newspaper relies heavily on AP stories that are obviously and now it’s clear, intentionally, misinformation. As a result, that newspaper is trash and is failing.
45% of college students feel Israel is to blame! WHAT are we going to do about our institutes of “higher learning”. For over 10 years I keep thinking the left is going to push the envelope too far and things will go in reverse to a saner time..So far, it has not happened. You have to hand it to the left- they are patient and very methodical. This BS started when I was in college in the mid 70’s. I remember my social work professor preaching about the exploitation of migrant workers by the US. Let’s not preach that their living conditions were greatly improved over Mexico, and they were given work, a roof over their heads and 3 squares a day..
WHAT are we going to do about our institutes of “higher learning”.
Begin by calling them what they are: Fundamentalist Indoctrination Centers.
Fundamentalism cloaked in “inclusion” has taken hold en masse. It’s creating a growing population willing to wipe clean both our history and our present in the delusional attempt to enforce a new political-religious purity on campus, and then in the institutions they inhabit after graduation.
Worse, the environment fostered by radical professors and administrators is coming increasingly close to justifying violence. A letter to the chancellor of Syracuse University sent by a student spells out just how miserable life can be for non-woke students on campus. At one point, the author states, “We are afraid to walk alone at night, to attend meetings for conservative clubs, to even leave our dorms. …Our calls for help fall on deaf ears and we are left without hope.”
https://www.newsweek.com/parents-must-stop-letting-woke-colleges-indoctrinate-their-children-opinion-1518780
I’m curious if we are to believe the news agencies on this subject? After all, they have told us the truth about covid and everything else for decades, right?
For six years Americans have been gaslit by the woke claiming Republicans are Nazis. Turns out it’s the AP and VOA.