The Media Accountability Project  

"It is as if Reuters is randomly choosing which term to use each time. This inconsistency is not a minor linguistic issue—it reinforces the inaccurate narrative that all Palestinians in Israeli custody are convicted criminals, when in reality, many are held without charge or trial and cannot be considered “prisoners” according to the normal definition."

The use of “captured” vs “occupied” misleads readers into thinking that Israel has a legitimate claim to Palestinian territories, rather than acknowledging its illegal occupation. Palestinians are the indigenous peoples of Palestine – and media outlets should not be complicit in enabling the kind of language that softens Israel’s illegal colonization of Palestinian land.

"HRC is far from neutral. Journalists who report factually on Israel—or anyone critical of Israel’s ongoing genocide in the occupied Gaza Strip, its apartheid policies, settler violence in the occupied West Bank, or raids on Palestinian territories—are often targeted by HRC’s intimidation tactics and smear campaigns."

"The usage of “captured” vs occupied misleads readers into thinking that Israel has a strong claim to, or ownership of, Palestinian territories – which is blatantly not the case. Palestinians are the indigenous peoples of this land – and media outlets should not be complicit in enabling the kind of language that normalizes Israel’s illegal ongoing colonization process."

"The Palestine Institute for Public Diplomacy urges journalists to “avoid using misleading and inaccurate terminology,” as such language can create a narrative “far-removed from reality” and can, in some cases, be used deliberately to whitewash Israel’s crimes." 

"Would you refer to it as a “war” if Russia was doing this to a largely defenceless Ukraine? I don’t think so. In fact world humanitarian groups are now referring to the situation in Gaza as a genocide. This is no longer debateable to anyone but Israeli apologists. I strongly urge you to refer to this carnage as a genocide from now on."

"Given that countless experts have “accused” Israel of genocide over the last year, this framing lumps Amnesty’s findings into that pile of accusations. Amnesty’s findings are exceptional, they are a firm conclusion that Israel is committing genocide."

"This sustained bombardment has left Syria defenseless, effectively shaping the country for a new administration that lacks the means to resist. Yet, your article presents these aggressive actions as strategic, failing to report on Israel’s destructive, unlawful and occupying encroachment on Syria."

"Just today, Israel has launched airstrikes targeting Syrian air defense systems, naval ships, military warehouses, and infrastructure in and around Damascus. These are not hypothetical “opportunities,” but active and ongoing military strikes. Framing them as such minimizes the reality of Israel’s current violations of Syrian sovereignty and presents its military actions as a strategic move, rather than an ongoing invasion."

"In any case, the issue here is fundamentally the double standard. That an Islamophobic, far-right pro-Israel group constitutes the “mainstream” for National Post, but a Jewish advocacy group that challenges Israel’s human rights abuses constitutes a “fringe” position. I’m not sure why National Post feels that they can fairly categorize such groups into these categories, but this letter should highlight how fraught of an effort that is for a newsroom to engage in."