Earlier this month the Associated Press was among media outlets that did their part to spark protests around the world by amplifying a claim that an Israeli missile strike at a Gaza hospital killed several hundred people:
BREAKING: The Gaza Health Ministry says at least 500 people killed in an explosion at a hospital that it says was caused by an Israeli airstrike. https://t.co/QXPgbAvtQ6
— The Associated Press (@AP) October 17, 2023
Because the credo of "journalism" these days seems to be "report first, ask questions later," the AP ended up trying to reel that original report back in:
AP ran its visual analysis by a half-dozen experts who all agreed the most likely scenario was a rocket from within Gaza that veered off and came apart seconds before the explosion.
Andrea Richardson, an expert in analyzing open-source intelligence who is a consultant with the Human Rights Center at the University of California, Berkeley, School of Law, said specific landmarks visible in the videos show where the rockets were launched.
“From the video evidence that I have seen, it’s very clear that the rockets came from within Gaza,” said Richardson, a human rights lawyer and experienced war crimes investigator who has worked in the Middle East. She added that the timing of the rocket launches, the explosion and the first reports that the hospital had been hit also seemed to confirm the sequence of events.
The original story that the Associated Press ran with came from the Gaza Health Ministry. Naturally, the AP won't use them as a source for any more stories, right?
Nope!
The AP was happy to pass along more reports from the Gaza Health Ministry yesterday:
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BREAKING: Gaza's Health Ministry says the Palestinian death toll from the three-week war has risen past 8,000, mostly women and minors. https://t.co/oBFTYmiKMN
— The Associated Press (@AP) October 29, 2023
No matter how much you loathe the mainstream media, it's never enough.
They just keep doing this. Who controls the Gaza Health Ministry again? https://t.co/HkQogcz0WN
— Joe Concha (@JoeConchaTV) October 29, 2023
Why are you quoting Hamas as a source?
— Bethany S. Mandel (@bethanyshondark) October 29, 2023
Maybe it's just easier for the AP to get quotes from Hamas because that's where their offices are.
Does the AP still share office space with Hamas..?
— Don Carter (@d1carter) October 29, 2023
I'm not sure but that wouldn't be surprising.
AP running Hamas propaganda again. https://t.co/fohLpwgI9x
— Erick Erickson (@EWErickson) October 29, 2023
The AP is incapable of shame, apparently. Then again, they know that actual "journalism" is not their job these days.
