When 'Experts' Aren't Experts
The media needs to be much more careful about who it presents as knowledgeable.
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Hello all! This is the third newsletter accompanying episode 18. Be sure to see them all. Sign up so they appear in your inbox.
Wow have we been getting amazing responses to this episode. Thank you. Keep them coming.
This episode features an interview with the fantastic
, who delivers a kind of fact check that I hadn’t even thought of. With an impressive military record and a great deal of on-the-ground interactions with the Israel Defense Forces, he has a strong sense of what’s really going on in the war against Hamas in Gaza. (He also teaches me a new word.)Andrew explains that the media have been speaking with so-called “military experts” who don’t know what they’re talking about. Many of them failed to learn crucial lessons from the U.S.-led “war on terrorism” — a combination of wars that led to a two-decade quagmire in Afghanistan, a disaster in Iraq that helped give birth to ISIS, and more. We discuss his excellent piece in Tablet, what the media is getting wrong, and which two outlets (in the UK) are particularly biased.
Andrew also responds to a bonkers lie from CNN:
That's completely false. And that actually just shows a real ignorance.
For links and information about other parts of this episode, be sure to see the previous newsletters.
What you can do
When you see news organizations quote or interview so-called “military experts” who are getting it wrong, look up the email addresses for anyone and everyone at the top levels of the news agency, and send a note like this:
You lied to your audience by presenting (the person’s name) as an “expert” on the topic of (Israel or whatever they were discussing). Their remarks showed that they lack fundamental knowledge required for actual expertise. As the podcast They Stand Corrected from former CNN fact checker Josh Levs has made clear, someone having experience in the military does not make them an expert. They need a clear understanding of the unique circumstances they’re there to discuss, what the goals are, and which tactics actually work. Please correct this for your audience and contact me within two days to let me know the exact steps you have taken.
Copy me in! You can use: media@joshlevs.com.
Also, if you’re on social media, here are posts you can amplify: On X, try this and this. Here’s a Facebook post. And Instagram:
Also, send me links that you want me to fact check! Paid subscribers, you can reach me through the comments section here. Other folks can find a form via my website.
Thanks all,
JL