Debra Messing is Right: It's 'Unconscionable'
Plus, reactions are pouring in about CNN's 'bonkers lie'
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Of all the episodes of They Stand Corrected so far, I believe this one is getting the most responses. As soon as it published, I began hearing from listeners saying that they, too, were shocked that CNN would go this far. To learn what this is all about, check out yesterday’s newsletter.
Today, I’m focusing on another part of Episode 18.
In it, I share a clip from the awesome actress and activist Debra Messing, who gave these powerful remarks on Instagram:
“This is unconscionable. These poor families are grieving and then the international media erases their reality. What happened to honest journalism?”
She refers to the media’s repugnant handling of the slaughter of a group of Israel children, part of a Druze community, by Hezbollah terrorists in Lebanon. The Washington Post was especially awful. As I discuss in the episode, the paper then placed a tiny note in the next day’s paper, which made no difference. Severe damage was already done.
I also mention an analysis by the Washington Institute for Near East Policy that shows the Post has been allowing anonymous, unofficial sources in Gaza to say just about anything they want throughout this war. (Here’s a write-up about it.) Executive Editor Robert Satloff writes:
“Abuse of anonymous sourcing at the Post appears to be a systemic problem, with responsibility that runs from correspondents in the field to the most senior editors in Washington. This may not be the reason the Post is currently going through convulsive change, but one can only hope that it comes out at the other end with this problem fixed.”
The Post has been showing extreme anti-Israel bias throughout the war. As I explained in Episode 12, it even ran a false attack against Israel on the front page without even attempting to fact check it first. People leading the Post’s coverage of the region are former employees of the Qatari government, having worked for its state-owned propaganda channel known as Al Jazeera.
What you can do
First, share this episode and newsletter. The more people see this and listen to the show, the more the Post will realize that people really care about this.
Also, you can send a note like this to the Washington Post, which lists email addresses for its newsroom leadership here.
A deep institutional bias against Israel is clear in the Post’s work. For example, see your disastrous misrepresentation of the slaughter of Israeli children by Hezbollah. The small note inside the next day’s paper did nothing to undo the damage you caused. And this is not the first time the Post has done something like this during the war.
As the podcast They Stand Corrected has proven repeatedly, there is no journalistic legitimacy for your stream of slanted, false reporting. People at the Post are using it as a megaphone to spread dangerous lies about Israel and Jews — lies that are endangering Jewish lives everywhere.
Please reply within one week, letting me know the exact steps you are taking to end the onslaught of anti-Israel lies produced by your newsroom.
Feel free to send similar text to other news agencies. For suggestions about the kinds of notes to send elsewhere — including in response to CNN’s bonkers lie — check out my previous newsletters!
Something faster you can do: Send me links. I reach out to executives of news agencies all the time. And some of your notes to me lead to do entire episodes, just like this one!
Paid subscribers, reach me through the comments section below. You get preference. And to celebrate the significance of this being Episode 18, I have kept the annual rate steeply discounted for a bit longer! Everyone else can find a form via my website.
Thanks,
JL
P.S. Speaking of Debra, here’s a previous post of mine on Instagram:
