'Murder'
Fury over the media's refusal to call Hamas' slaughter of hostages what it was
This one might surprise you. Recently, I heard from many listeners about the media’s refusal to use the term “murder” in discussing the slaughter of hostages by Hamas, including U.S. citizen Hersh Goldberg-Polin. People are right — the media’s separate set of rules just for Israel is a continuation of deeply ingrained antisemitism.
But there was a moment along the way, albeit brief, in which a term that some news agencies used was correct. To tackle the problems in mainstream media, we have to understand how it operates. In the latest episode of They Stand Corrected, I explain.
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This is the second newsletter accompanying Episode 23. The first focused on the low bar for journalists at the presidential debate.
What you can do
Anytime you see the media avoid accurately describing what happened to these hostages, look up the email addresses for the top executives at that news agency. Send a message like this, and cc me at josh@joshlevs.com. This makes a big difference, because it shows the executives that I might report on their news agency’s failure.
In reporting about Hamas killing six hostages including a U.S. citizen you avoided the terms “murder” and “slaughter.” Yet here are other stories of events elsewhere in which you did use those terms. (Include links.) As the media fact checking podcast They Stand Corrected explains, having a separate set of rules just for Israel is, by definition, antisemitic bigotry. Please reply all within two days to explain what you plan to do to rectify this. Thank you.
Lots of you have been cc’ing me on your messages to news executives. Thanks! I hear from people inside news agencies that it’s making a difference. 👊
As always, you can do something faster by sending me links. Paid subscribers, message me here or post in the comments. Everyone else can find a form via my website, joshlevs.com.
Meanwhile, there’s still time for you to visit this powerful, beautiful website #FacesOfIron to see amazing stories of heroes in Israel on October 7 and since. For a limited time, for each click, the organization behind this site will make a small contribution to They Stand Corrected! Only clicks through my unique link count: https://bit.ly/3XcnEvZ. So if you share this site, be sure to copy my unique bit.ly link. 🙏
Thanks,
JL
P.S. Here’s another post that continues to be relevant:
