It's time for another episode of Profiles in Totally Responsible Journalism. Today the Associated Press is featured because it was another banner week for accuracy in reporting.
Here's where this all started:
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
Reports like that sparked angry protests around the world, including in the United States.
Four days later, we get this:
An Associated Press visual analysis finds that the deadly blast that rocked a Gaza hospital was likely caused by a rocket fired from inside Palestinian territory that veered off course, broke up in the air and crashed to the ground. https://t.co/No6FS5SCQ9
— The Associated Press (@AP) October 21, 2023
Now it can be told:
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.
Recommended
Maybe they should have run it by the "experts" before running an irresponsibly framed report that fueled protests based on media malpractice.
Maybe next time do the “visual analysis” before publishing hysterical, dangerous disinformation.
— IT Guy (@ITGuy1959) October 21, 2023
If only you had waited for evidence before you reported Hamas talking points. https://t.co/TrSQbeogiY
— MaryAnnNotGinger 💋 (@MAnotGinger) October 21, 2023
"Report" first, find out the facts later. Ah, "journalism"!
We knew this days ago, when the AP was regurgitating fiction. https://t.co/ELtd708u18
— Ian Miles Cheong (@stillgray) October 21, 2023
Apparently being reckless in "journalism" means never having to say you're sorry.
Keep the squad in your thoughts during this difficult time
— The Dank Knight 🦇 (@capeandcowell) October 21, 2023
Rashida Tlaib still hasn't deleted this, not that we're surprised:
Israel just bombed the Baptist Hospital killing 500 Palestinians (doctors, children, patients) just like that. @POTUS this is what happens when you refuse to facilitate a ceasefire & help de-escalate.
— Rashida Tlaib (@RashidaTlaib) October 17, 2023
Your war and destruction only approach has opened my eyes and many… https://t.co/mZYoifT7bj
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