#Journalistic Ethics

[gamer2002]

Journalists demonstrate that they are unbiased by suspending the editor who has said that they are biased

[victusinveritas]

[elierlick]

Ok this one is an absolute banger

[eretzyisrael]

In the video, a professional camera hovering over a Palestinian mob can be seen as its operator nonchalantly tries to focus on the terrified Bibas, who is tightly held on a motorbike in the middle of the chaotic scene.

34-year-old Bibas — whose wife Shiri and two young sons Ariel and Kfir have been abducted in a separate incident — is seen surrounded by armed men, bloodied, beaten, abused, and yelled at.

But the cameraman, as well as whoever films the video footage and others who hold up their phones, care only about capturing Bibas’s suffering, most likely in order to sell the footage to local and international news outlets.

[fishin-in-a-graveyard]

The shooter will be remembered for decades, People will discuss his motive, his backstory, Every last detail of his life, How tragic this all was for him, What could have saved him? What could have helped him?

The victims? Their faces will pop up with their names on the news for 5 seconds, If they're lucky they'll get a title "Head cheerleader" "Ex friend of the shooter" "The math teacher".

One of their parents of the victims will appear on the news to say how tragic and surprising this all was well they hold a photo of their dead child. Yes, they'll be remembered by their friends and family

But if you ask the people who spent a lot of time consuming every last detail of the case,

"What were the names of the victims?"

A lot of the times they'll have to Google the answer

[justletmeon12]

It looks like the screenshotting process somehow led to the dates being switched.

Image ID: Screenshots of two articles in The Guardian, each with an accompanying photo of a bombed-out hospital and crowds of civilians and soldiers.

First is dated 15 November 2023 and reads, "IDF says it has entered GAza's al-Shifa hospital in 'targeted' operation against Hamas."

Second is dated 8 July 2024 and reads, "'No words for this': horror over Russian bombing of Kyiv children's hospital"

End ID

Sometimes the media says “there are no words” to describe or justify horrific attacks on hospitals. Other times, the media has countless words to describe and justify horrific attacks on hospitals.

[pebblegalaxy]

Nothing but the Truth: A Powerful Political Thriller Highlighting the Importance of Free Speech and Journalistic Ethics

“Nothing but the Truth” is a 2008 political thriller film directed by Rod Lurie, which stars Kate Beckinsale, Matt Dillon, and Alan Alda. The film is based on a true story of a journalist who refused to reveal her sources to the government and was jailed for contempt of court. The movie explores the themes of journalistic ethics, government overreach, and the importance of the First Amendment. In…

[calling-the-angels]

I was reading an article from CNN about journalists in Gaza (link) and this particular paragraph stuck out to me...

I was initially a journalism major in college so I understand the background of why an organization like CNN would require this style of reporting (i.e. "both sides" representism). However, these inserts of Isreali "viewpoints" that have been shown to be barefaced lies in an article about Gazan journalists risking their lives is just piss-poor optics.

If anyone wonders why people have lost faith in traditional media sources, this is a perfect example. In an article centering Palestinian voices, the organization still requires that Israeli talking points be linked as well and often, in the same paragraph. It reads like: 'here's a quote about a personal lived experience of genocide but nah uh, here's isreali propaganda claiming they are lying and bc they are an ally, they should be believed'. It's American/Western exceptionalism at its finest because "why should we believe a Palestinian, they aren't paragons of truth and justice like we are?"

I don't know if I quite explained myself like I wanted but this particular article just made me so angry that CNN and other Western media were once considered 'trustworthy' sources of information and now are parroting isreali lies. AND telling their readers that Palestinian voices on the ground telling first-hand information are not "good enough" sources of information.

[the-garbanzo-annex-jr]

Reuters’ Ethics and Standards editor told HonestReporting on Tuesday that the wire service “disputes” our “claim” that its journalists had “decorate[d] their office with terror symbols.”

This despite photo evidence we exposed last week showing scarves with terror groups insignias decorating what used to be Reuters office in Gaza in 2013:

The man in the photo is Reuters current Head of Visuals for Gaza, Suhaib Jadallah Salem. The photo still appears on his Facebook page.

Like the Nazi Swastika, the emblems on the scarves are of genocidal groups — Hamas, Islamic Jihad, al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades — that call for the killing of Jews/Israelis (like some of Suhaib’s colleagues in Reuters).

There are only two bad explanations to Reuters’ disturbing response: ” Either it doesn’t view these proscribed terror groups as such, or it is denying indisputable evidence.

The rest of Reuters Ethics and Standards editor Brian Moss’s official response did not address our exposure of its journalists in Gaza receiving awards from senior Hamas officials.

Instead, it said: “On the basis of a close review by the Reuters Ethics and Standards department, we dispute the distorted evidence and insinuations of bias in the HonestReporting September 5th article. We stand by our coverage of Gaza and our team, who operate within the Thomson Reuters Trust Principles…Further, we dispute any claim that our journalists received ‘de-facto bribes from terrorists.'”

But here are the facts, which HonestReporting stands behind:

Our review of Palestinian media revealed that since 2015, the proscribed terror group has hosted annual ceremonies to honor Gazan journalists who had won prestigious international awards, including photographers from Reuters.

This cozy relationship between Gaza’s terror groups and the journalists tasked with covering them objectively is ethically flawed. It exposes the disturbing entanglement between terrorists and the media, shaping a distorted global narrative about Gaza.

Honored by Terrorists

In 2017, Hamas held a commendation event for international award-winning journalists in Gaza, where it honored Reuters photographer Suhaib Jadallah Salem — the agency’s current head of visuals for Gaza (who was photographed in Reuters office in front of the terror groups’ scarves.)

One of the photos from the event shows Suhaib’s brother Mohammed Jadallah Salem, a Reuters photographer who recently won the Pulitzer prize and the World Press Photo award, receiving Suhaib’s commendation plaque on his behalf. Two senior Hamas officials are granting the plaque: Khalil al-Hayya and Mushir al-Masri:

Al-Hayya has publicly called for a fight against Israel as “the head of the serpent,” and al-Masri has vowed to “uproot The Zionists With Our Axes, Knives, Guns.”

Receiving commendation from such terrorists is a mark of Cain. It should get any journalist disciplined by any respectable media outlet.

Yet Reuters journalists — knowing perhaps that their bosses won’t find out or even care — had no qualms getting into bed with Hamas. Another photo from the event shows other Reuters journalists around a table not too far from al-Hayya: Reuters Senior Gaza correspondent Nidal al-Mughrabi is sitting near Suhaib’s brother Mohammed and photographer Ashraf Amra (who was also honored at the event and exposed by HonestReporting for endorsing infiltration into Israel on October 7). Beside them is Belal Jadallah, who headed the allegedly “independent” Gaza Press House:

Suhaib himself attended a separate Hamas commendation event for journalists later in 2017. This time, he was honored for performing the Muslim pilgrimage to Mecca:

Suhaib received the commendation from al-Masri and Hamas spokesperson Fawzi Barhoum (who have often been interviewed by Reuters), along with the movement’s media officials.

It’s worth noting that four of the Jadallah brothers work for Reuters, in Gaza and Dubai. And the links of the Jadallah family to Hamas go back years. One of the brothers of Suhaib and Mohammed, Sallah, was among the terrorists who kidnapped and killed Israeli soldier Nahshon Waxman in 1994.

The mastermind behind that operation was Moahmmed Deif, who was recently eliminated by Israel. As Hamas’ military chief, Deif was also one of the masterminds behind the October 7 massacre in southern Israel.

If Suhaib and Mohammed were professional journalists, such background wouldn’t necessarily matter. But if they have been hosted and honored by Hamas, it’s alarming.

Unethical Nexus

Top news editors probably know it’s impossible to be a journalist in Gaza without links to Hamas, which controls the information flow. In other words, professional journalism in Gaza is impossible, and news outlets should admit it to their audience.

But being hosted by Hamas, receiving its commendations, and displaying terror groups’ insignias isn’t a case of journalists even trying to be professional. This is an agenda-driven, cooperative, symbiotic, reciprocal, and personal nexus that benefits each side.

A Hamas statement from one of the commendation events said it best:

The media office of Hamas organizes this annual event to honor creative journalists for the fourth year in a row, in appreciation of their efforts in serving the Palestinian cause.

Journalists who violate the agency’s code of ethics by receiving de-facto bribes (or at least benefits) from terrorists to “serve the Palestinian cause,” and decorate their office with terror symbols, are not deserving of international praise or the defense of the Reuters Ethics and Standards department.

[all-that-jazz-93]

I've said this before but I genuinely think Danny Cocannon didn't give a damn about the advance man and the helicopter. He brought it up to CJ because he knew if the White House investigated, it would lead them to Karen Larson

[gamer2002]

[waitingforgodotyaoi]

this is from David Farrier's webworm, and reiterates something I was already thinking about. whatever you feel about what ghahraman did, I think it's absolutely disgusting how sensationalist and gratuitous the reporting has been on her, all things considered, very minor crime.

The fervour with which women of colour in politics in are persecuted in the media just goes to show how deeply racist and misogynist this country so often is. for a broadcaster like sean plunket to openly say things like 'coloured young women' and face no consequences is completey vile.

anyway, hell country, don't read stuff etc etc

[maeamian]

FETCH ME THE FUCKIN' CRABS KISSINGER'S DEAD

[coochiequeens]

April Hutchinson may not be able to compete for two years for speaking the truth but she won my heart and respect.

By Genevieve Gluck. November 8, 2023

A female competitive powerlifter for Team Canada who spoke out after a trans-identified male athlete set a women’s national record at a championship in Manitoba has been informed that she is facing a two-year suspension from her sport as a result. April Hutchinson shared the news to X (formerly Twitter), where she has received an outpouring of support after she slammed the situation as a “horror show.”

“I now face a 2-year ban by the [Canadian Powerlifting Union] CPU for speaking publicly about the unfairness of biological males being allowed to taunt female competitors & loot their winnings,” Hutchinson wrote.

“Apparently, I have failed in my gender-role duties as ‘supporting actress’ in the horror show that is my sport right now. Naturally, the CPU deemed MY written (private) complaint of the male bullying to be ‘frivolous and vexatious.'”

Alongside her statement, Hutchinson shared images of the notice she had received, which reported that a discipline committee had convened on October 23 and had “determined that there is sufficient evidence for Major Infraction as a result of repeating offences, including prior warning.”

“Based on the information provided, the Discipline Panel is recommending that [April Hutchinson] have her membership to the CPU suspended for 2 years. We strongly feel this is a case of a repeated offence, and should be treated as such,” the notice read.

Hutchinson was reported to the CPU on August 23 by Anne Andres, a trans-identified male athlete who set a women’s national record at a championship in Brandon, Manitoba, on August 13. Hutchinson had publicly condemned his participation in the women’s category, and appeared on Piers Morgan Uncensored just days after the championship competition.

“I’ve been a powerlifter with the Canadian Powerlifting Union for about four years now. Over the last year, I have been fighting my federation to ban trans women — also known as men — from competing with women in powerlifting,” Hutchinson told host Rosanna Lockwood.

“They have ignored my pleas, as well as many other women who don’t agree with it. They’ve actually threatened to suspend me for speaking up about the matter,” she added. “The threats keep coming, and disciplinary action for speaking up has been ongoing over the last year.”

“The whole thing is disgusting. It’s disgraceful. It’s disheartening,” Hutchinson remarked. “I’ve been threatened with suspension. Two weeks ago, I received a letter from my Federation, stating that I cannot call Anne a biological male.” In response to news of Hutchinson’s potential ban, The Daily Mail reached out to Andres for comment. He responded by telling the journalist who contacted him that “the blood of LGBT people” was on her hands, and added, “Get straight f*cked.”

Andres, 40, currently holds multiple records in the female division, including the women’s deadlift and bench press, and has placed first in nine out of the eleven competitions he has participated in over the past four years.

At the Canadian Powerlifting Union’s (CPU) 2023 Western Canadian Championship, Andres participated in the Female Masters Unequipped category, and beat out Michelle Kymanick and SuJan Gil for the first place award — with a total powerlifting score that was over 200kg more than the top-performing female in the same class.

A “total” is the sum of the heaviest weight lifted for the squat, bench press, and deadlift. Andres’ total would have placed him amongst the top-performing male powerlifters in the entire championship had he participated in the men’s category.

The Western Canadian Championships was held under the umbrella of the Canadian Powerlifting Union (CPU), which announced a gender self-identification policy earlier this year. The policy, which garnered mass backlash from women’s rights advocates, explicitly allowed any males to participate in women’s competitions on the basis of self-declared “gender” alone.

In February, the CPU’s “Trans Inclusion Policy” was released, containing an explicit statement that the CPU supported allowing transgender powerlifters to participate in the sex category of their choosing based on a guidance from the Canadian Centre for Ethics in Sport (CCES).

“Based on this background and available evidence, the Expert Working Group felt that trans athletes should be able to participate in the gender with which they identify, regardless of whether or not they have undergone hormone therapy,” the document reads, deferring to the “inclusivity in sport” guidance from the CCES.

Just prior to the CPU’s announcement of a gender self-identification policy, Andres gained significant notoriety after sharing a video of himself appearing to mock female athletes, asking why female powerlifters were “so bad” at bench press.

The widespread outcry against males in women’s powerlifting events, prompted by news of Andres’ participation and taunting of female athletes, motivated the International Powerlifting Federation (IPF) to issue a policy change on August 21.

“For a transgender athlete to compete in the sport of powerlifting at any level, he/she must declare before competing that he/she is a transgender athlete. If an athlete fails to declare that he/she is a transgender and competes that violation leads to Disqualification of the result obtained in that Competition with all resulting Consequences, including forfeiture of any medals, points and prizes,” the IPF said in an updated policy document.

Increasing reports of male athletes identifying as female in order to compete in women’s events have attracted significant criticism. As previously reported by Reduxx, a Canadian powerlifting coach self-identified into the women’s category earlier this year and broke the Alberta women’s bench press record. Avi Silverberg was attempting to highlight the unfair advantage males have when competing in women’s athletics, in protest over the CPU’s recently implemented gender self-identification policies.

Not to show my age but the thought of men competing in women’s sports was funny when it was this guy

Say what you will about the 90's at least we had common sense about this issue

[pierrelucdisaster]

I did not have a hockey player fucking launch me into the sun when I wrote a fucking normal story about him to watch in real time someone tweet out the death of a player they're "not 100% sure about."

[justinspoliticalcorner]

Vesper Henry at MMFA:

“The View from the Top” panel at The Association of LGBTQ+ Journalists’ National Convention this year convened an array of industry leaders to discuss the current state of the news media in “one of the toughest years for the industry since the Great Recession.” The topics of discussion included “declining trust in the media,” and a subsequent question about mainstream media lending equal credence to right-wing detractors on transgender issues put an editor representing the New York Times on the defensive.

“We have the ability at The Advocate to not have to both-sides certain stories, like whether or not gender-affirming care and trans women in sports are scientifically sound, and there are some mainstream outlets that try to both-sides that,” The Advocate’s former editor-in-chief Tracy Gilchrist said. “And I would love to hear from those folks how you are combating that in your newsrooms, because it’s misinformation.” New York Times assistant managing editor Sam Sifton jumped at the question, saying, “As a mainstream news organization that covers those issues and many more, I don’t think we’re engaging in both-sidesism. I think what we’re doing is trying to embody an ideal of independent journalism … that posits that our job, our mission in seeking the truth and helping people understand the world, is going to prove to be a disappointment to those who find our article to not match their worldview, to not match what they believe.”

Sifton then compared the Times’ coverage of gender-affirming care to its recent coverage of the war in Gaza, for which the paper has come under fire after quantitative analysis from The Intercept found a pro-Israel bias, as well as a leaked internal memo advising against the use of the terms “genocide,” “ethnic cleansing,” and “occupied territory.” 

[...] Gender-affirming care is currently banned for youth in 26 states despite its overwhelming support “from every major medical institution and leading world health authority,” from the American Academy of Pediatrics to the World Health Organization. The future of gender-affirming care remains in the uncertain hands of the courts, with the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals recently allowing Florida’s previously stricken ban to be enacted, while the Supreme Court is poised to decide the fate of Tennessee’s ban, and subsequently all others, by next year.

At The Association of LGBTQ+ Journalists’ View From The Top panel, NY Times editor Sam Sifton defended the paper’s abysmal record on transgender rights coverage issues by giving too much deference to anti-trans talking points.