The Guardian: 1 photo, 22 words, no context and so much disinformation

On Sunday I posted about a terrorist rocket attack from Gaza that morning which destroyed a house in the southern Israeli city of Netivot.  

I noted that a resident of the house took refuge in a secure room, narrowly escaping the blast caused by the grad rocket and that, further, additional Palestinian rockets landed in Be’er Sheva resulting in the cancellation of school for the city’s 40,000 plus students.

Destroyed home in Netivot

The title of my post was as follows:

‘Will the Guardian report rocket fire from Gaza terrorists which destroyed a house in Israel?’

Today we received our answer.

Monday’s edition of the Guardian’s ‘Picture Desk Live: the best news pictures of the day’ included the following:

Here’s the caption:

Palestinians inspect the damage to a building after an Israeli air strike in Nuseirat refugee camp in the central Gaza Strip. Photograph: Ibraheem Abu Mustafa/Reuters

As this will likely be the sole report by the Guardian on this ‘effect and cause’, let’s “inspect” the photo and caption and see what we can learn.

Guardian readers’ understanding:

The Israelis cruelly bombed a Palestinian “refugee camp”, evidently for no reason.

Fact:

The Israeli Air Force specifically targeted a weapon manufacturing facility and a terror tunnel in Nuseirat in response to terrorist rocket fire – aimed at Israeli civilians – which nearly killed a man in Netivot.

Guardian readers’ understanding:

There are Palestinian refugees in Gaza.

Fact:

The idea that Palestinian Arabs, many of whom are several generations removed from those who fled the 1948 War, living in a Palestinian run polity completely free of Jews or IDF forces are still considered “refugees” is beyond absurd.

Final thoughts:

Those who think that I’m being too critical of the Guardian over one measly photo and caption may wish to learn that the same Reuters photo was posted at Yahoo News, albeit with a bit more information:

Palestinians inspect the damage to a building after an Israeli air strike in Nuseirat refugee camp in the central Gaza Strip September 10, 2012. An Israeli army statement said the Israeli air force targeted four sites in the Gaza Strip on Monday in response to the firing of rockets from Gaza into Israel. REUTERS/Ibraheem Abu Mustafa 

Evidently the editors responsible for the photo caption at Yahoo felt the journalistic duty to provide at least a bare minimum of balance and context. 

The Guardian felt no such compunction. 

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