Yesterday, we clearly demonstrated that a report published in the Independent charging Israel with cutting off water to Palestinian towns during Ramadan was, in effect, the complete opposite of the truth. We showed that Israeli authorities actually INCREASED water to Palestinians – despite shortages caused by increased use and reduced supply – in recognition of the needs of Palestinian Muslims during Ramadan.
Not surprisingly, the journalist responsible for the article, Peter Yeung, received a good deal of criticism on Twitter. Though the following tweet (by Adir Krafman) does not reflect the more substantive and detailed criticism in our post, Yeung’s response is nonetheless quite telling.
the allegation still stands. It was never reported as fact
— Peter Yeung (@ptr_yeung) June 15, 2016
Yeung’s claim, that the story he wrote “was never reported as fact“, is astonishing. Of course, anyone can make an allegation. It’s the responsibility of professional journalists (and their editors) to determine if allegations have merit, not merely to parrot baseless charges and malevolent smears.
As we noted in our own tweet, the accuracy clause of the Editors’ Code requires that the “press must take care not to publish inaccurate, misleading or distorted information, including pictures”. Further, it demands that a “significant inaccuracy, misleading statement or distortion once recognised must be corrected, promptly and with due prominence…”.
We’ve lodged our complaint with Indy editors, and asked that, per the Editor’s Code, they either retract the extraordinarily misleading article or publish a substantive correction.
…
See this important update.
