Guardian Wins Two Dishonest Reporter 2009 Awards!

Congratulations are in order for Alan Rusbridger and his team for winning two highly coveted Dishonest Reporter Awards for 2009, more than any other media outlet. The awards are given in a number of categories for the most skewed and biased coverage of the Mideast conflict and this is the ninth time Honest Reporting is running this.
The Guardian was the winner in the category of “Biggest Train Wreck of Palestinian Sources”. The Guardian was honored with this prize for this:

Shortly after Haaretz’s bungled soldier’s testimonies, The Guardian published a package of news, video, commentary and a staff editorial about Israeli war crimes in Gaza it claimed to have uncovered. The so-called expose suffered from three primary problems, which HonestReporting elaborated on.

1. The Guardian’s videos were presented as fact with out any supporting evidence.
2. The package lacked any verifiable information or any mention of the measures taken by the IDF to avoid civilian casualties while Hamas actively used human shields.
3. A reliance on dubious Palestinian sources. Palestinians aren’t brave enough — or stupid enough – to risk the wrath of Hamas by telling journalists (or human rights personnel or UN officials) about the homes used as cover for rocket fire, the mosques used as weapons dumps, or the hospitals and ambulances commandeered by Hamas leaders.

Furthermore, the Jerusalem Post discovered that The Guardian crossed the line into outright activism with a letter to bloggers and web site owners appealing for them to plug the package in order to

. . . add weight to calls this week for a full inquiry into the events surrounding Operation Cast Lead, which was aimed at Hamas, but which left over 1400 Palestinians dead – around 300 known to be children.

The Guardian, well more precisely, associate editor Michael White, was also the winner in the category of “Most Senseless Talking Head” for this:

Michael White, an associate editor at The Guardian, was a guest on BBC Radio London’s Breakfast Show discussing an attack on Italian PM Sylvio Berlusconi when he made the following statement:

In Israel they murder each other a great deal. The Israeli Defense Forces murder people because they don’t like their political style and what they’ve got to say and it only means that people more extreme come in and take their place.

A sharp interviewer with a little chutzpah could’ve stopped White in his tracks and followed up on his silly accusation. But it didn’t occur to the Breakfast Show hosts to do that because White’s language is now mainstream in the UK media. But even more troubling is the ease of White’s lie coupled with his responsibilities as associate editor.

And how does The Guardian relate to this? Good question. The paper hasn’t yet responded to HonestReporting’s concerns or the hundreds of emails we were cc’d on.

Last year the Guardian was the winner of only one award, the “Most Questionable Terror Links” award.

To see who the other recipients of Dishonest Reporter Awards for 2009 click here.