CiF Watch prompts correction to false Indy claim about “caged” Palestinian kids

A couple of hours ago we posted about a horribly misleading report in The Independent (Israel government tortures Palestinian children by keeping them in cages, human rights group says, Jan. 1) which included the following:

  • The broad, unsubstantiated insinuation, based on very vague wording in a report by the radical NGO PCATI, that Palestinian kids detained by Israeli security personnel are “tortured”.
  • The charge, based on completely uncorroborated allegations, based on a PCATI report, that Palestinian children are sexually abused while in custody.
  • The completely erroneous charge that Palestinian children were cagedfor months”   an allegation which was not even leveled by PCATI, nor by anyone involved in the story.

Following our complaint to Indy editors, the word torture in the headline was placed in quotes and, more importantly, the false charge that Palestinian children were caged for months has been amended.

First, the strap line has been revised. Here’s the original:

strapNow, here the revised version:

revisedAlso, they revised the opening sentence of the story. Here’s the original:

unnamedNow, here’s the revised sentence:

new sentenceDespite this modest improvement, it’s still shameful that such sophomoric agitprop – which, as we noted, engages in a far greater degree of hyperbole than even Electronic Intifada’s post on the same story – saw the light of day in the first place, and evidently got past the eyes of Indy editors.

You may want to Tweet Adam Withnall, the Indy reporter responsible for the story, to respectfully note your objections.

@adamwithnall

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