The point of this alert is not to “defend” Sinwar, but to demand that reporting be fair and balanced, even when covering controversial figures. It is unimaginable that a CBC piece would be written in this way about Israel's leadership.
Poor coverage - Media outlet to be critiqued
A CJPME Media Researcher has launched a media alert for the following article. Please submit a quick response to the media, even if it’s just a sentence or two:
Title of Piece: Aloysius Wong: “Who is Yahya Sinwar, the Hamas political leader in Gaza?"
Media Outlet: CBC News
Click here to access the piece online
Comments of the CJPME Media Researcher:
(Note: Please do not copy and paste the material below as the content to your message to the media - put all comments in your own words):
Please join us in challenging a CBC News article about Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar. The journalist interviews “experts” and “journalists” but obscures their clearly documented biases.
There is also no reference to the crimes being committed against Palestinians in Gaza. There is no mention of occupation or any context that might be helpful to understand in what context Sinwar emerged as a leader.
The point of this alert is not to “defend” Sinwar, but to demand that reporting be fair and balanced, even when covering controversial figures. It is unimaginable that a CBC piece would be written in this way about Israel's leadership.
- The journalist interviews three people about Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar. CBC journalist Aloysius Wong fails to mention that two of the interviewees work for hardline pro-Israel groups. Both organizations use vague and misleading names that make this impossible to know for ordinary readers. Both groups are widely regarded as cornerstones of the pro-Israel lobby in North America: The Washington Institute for Near East Policy and the Foundation for Defense of Democracies.
- The CBC journalist refers to Ehud Yaari as a “journalist” even though he is a clear partisan whose professional journalism career is behind him. He is now a pro-Israel “political commentator” and “columnist” who is now called upon in the media to rationalize elements of Israel’s unjust attacks on Palestinians.
- Why is someone presented as a “journalist” being given a platform to give a psychological diagnosis to the leader of Hamas? The subheading of the piece says, “Hamas leader a ‘cunning, sophisticated psychopath,’ says Israeli journalist who interviewed him in prison.” It is irresponsible for the CBC to cite an unqualified partisan’s mental diagnosis of a political figure. Psychopathy is a serious neuropsychiatric disorder, one diagnosed by medical professionals, not a dehumanizing insult to be tossed around in CBC articles to serve political purposes. Just because much of the Western world may view Sinwar in a negative light, it is totally inappropriate to describe him in this manner.
- The only person interviewed who is not part of a highly partisan pro-Israel group is Hussein Ibish, who works for the relatively milquetoast Arab Gulf States Institute in Washington, D.C. His contributions do not add meaningful balance to the piece. Why does CBC not interview any Palestinians or include a diverse range of perspectives?
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The CJPME Media Centre Team
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