Post by Teddy Bear on Oct 11, 2010 18:45:05 GMT
The following story encapsulates very well how the media in general use the Mid-East Conflict to further their own ends, and become a propaganda machine for the Arabs. To judge it properly, all you need to do is to imagine yourself as a journalist wanting to report truthfully what you have just witnessed, based on the values of our society.
Watch this video
At the beginning you see young teenagers surrounding a stopped car talking to the driver. As the car drives off one of the lads makes a gesture as if he is about to throw a stone, but is pulled off by another lad. Next scene you see a group of these lads running towards an approaching car with rocks in their hands clearly throwing them at the car. In defence, the car veers towards them. Most jump out of the way, but one of the lads, still with a rock in his raised hand is hit by the car, goes up on the hood and is pushed by the windscreen to the side onto the ground. The car stops momentarily, but as the gang continue to throw stones at the car, he drives off.
Next scene we see a group of adults manhandling the injured teen, seemingly against his will and supposedly with a broken leg, into a van.
Now without going into other elements contained in this video, which we'll examine shortly, what does the scene show?
A man is driving to his home when he is set upon and attacked by a gang of youths throwing stones. Bear in mind the driver sits on the left side and would naturally not want these youths who have run to the left side of the road to be able to hit him directly. He slews towards them to get them to concern themselves more with getting out of the way than throwing the rocks. One of the youths decides to be a 'hero' and is hit by the car.
Do you really have sympathy for the youths, or the driver? What do you think you would have done as the driver?
Suddenly all these adults are on the scene. Why weren't they dispersing these 'children' as the media likes to refer to them, before any trouble started, and avoid any injury?
Now for the inner context.
After you have run through the video a few times, probably intent on the action involved, look again at how many photographers you see around the scene, each filming from a different angle, or intent on being the first to get in on the scene.
Do you think they were just there by accident, or had been tipped off that something was going down?
So if you were going to write a story about this incident, wouldn't you relate EVERYTHING that you witnessed in it, within a proper context? Do you think this gang would have done the same without any media there to film it, knowing also the spin that the media were going to put on it?
Here's what the BBC report. Note too the 4 pictures linked to in the story that the BBC use. Each of the scenes displayed are from the video but none of them show the photographers that were surrounding the scene - All carefully chosen to hide this element:
Here's what Honest Reporting have to say about it:
Watch this video
At the beginning you see young teenagers surrounding a stopped car talking to the driver. As the car drives off one of the lads makes a gesture as if he is about to throw a stone, but is pulled off by another lad. Next scene you see a group of these lads running towards an approaching car with rocks in their hands clearly throwing them at the car. In defence, the car veers towards them. Most jump out of the way, but one of the lads, still with a rock in his raised hand is hit by the car, goes up on the hood and is pushed by the windscreen to the side onto the ground. The car stops momentarily, but as the gang continue to throw stones at the car, he drives off.
Next scene we see a group of adults manhandling the injured teen, seemingly against his will and supposedly with a broken leg, into a van.
Now without going into other elements contained in this video, which we'll examine shortly, what does the scene show?
A man is driving to his home when he is set upon and attacked by a gang of youths throwing stones. Bear in mind the driver sits on the left side and would naturally not want these youths who have run to the left side of the road to be able to hit him directly. He slews towards them to get them to concern themselves more with getting out of the way than throwing the rocks. One of the youths decides to be a 'hero' and is hit by the car.
Do you really have sympathy for the youths, or the driver? What do you think you would have done as the driver?
Suddenly all these adults are on the scene. Why weren't they dispersing these 'children' as the media likes to refer to them, before any trouble started, and avoid any injury?
Now for the inner context.
After you have run through the video a few times, probably intent on the action involved, look again at how many photographers you see around the scene, each filming from a different angle, or intent on being the first to get in on the scene.
Do you think they were just there by accident, or had been tipped off that something was going down?
So if you were going to write a story about this incident, wouldn't you relate EVERYTHING that you witnessed in it, within a proper context? Do you think this gang would have done the same without any media there to film it, knowing also the spin that the media were going to put on it?
Here's what the BBC report. Note too the 4 pictures linked to in the story that the BBC use. Each of the scenes displayed are from the video but none of them show the photographers that were surrounding the scene - All carefully chosen to hide this element:
Israel debates 'child violence' after Palestinians hurt
By Wyre Davies
In pictures: Palestinian boy hit by settler's car
An Israeli parliamentary committee has been debating the issue of the involvement of children in violent activities after two young Palestinian boys were run over and injured by an Israeli right-wing activist.
David Be'eri says he hit the boys because they were throwing stones at him.
Palestinians and human rights groups have criticised his actions.
The incident happened in the East Jerusalem district of Silwan.
The district sees frequent protests by local Palestinians against Jewish families and organisations who have moved into the area.
Mr Be'eri, one of the leading settlers, knocked down and injured the two boys as they threw stones at his car.
Video footage and photographs of the incident appear to show Mr Be'eri's car swerving to the wrong side of the road and accelerating towards the boys - throwing one of them, 11-year-old Amran Mansur, into the air.
Mr Be'eri is the chairman of the right-wing Elad organisation which promotes Jewish settlement in Arab East Jerusalem, which has been occupied by Israel since 1967.
He said his car was surrounded by a crowd of youths with rocks and he only hit them while trying to flee the area in fear of his life.
Mr Be'eri was released on police bail after being questioned.
His supporters in the Israeli parliament, the Knesset, said the incident highlighted what they said was the Palestinian tactic of using children to terrorise local communities.
'Hit and run'
The father of one of the boys said his son didn't have time to get out of the way as the car sped towards him and another boy, both of whom needed hospital treatment for their injuries.
Muhammad Mansur said that when he saw the pictures of the boy hitting the car's windscreen, he was amazed his son survived.
The Palestinian Authority condemned what it called a "hit and run crime" and called on Israel to ensure that settlers should not be above the law.
Two weeks ago, a young Palestinian man was killed in Silwan by an Israeli security guard, who was later released.
By Wyre Davies
In pictures: Palestinian boy hit by settler's car
An Israeli parliamentary committee has been debating the issue of the involvement of children in violent activities after two young Palestinian boys were run over and injured by an Israeli right-wing activist.
David Be'eri says he hit the boys because they were throwing stones at him.
Palestinians and human rights groups have criticised his actions.
The incident happened in the East Jerusalem district of Silwan.
The district sees frequent protests by local Palestinians against Jewish families and organisations who have moved into the area.
Mr Be'eri, one of the leading settlers, knocked down and injured the two boys as they threw stones at his car.
Video footage and photographs of the incident appear to show Mr Be'eri's car swerving to the wrong side of the road and accelerating towards the boys - throwing one of them, 11-year-old Amran Mansur, into the air.
Mr Be'eri is the chairman of the right-wing Elad organisation which promotes Jewish settlement in Arab East Jerusalem, which has been occupied by Israel since 1967.
He said his car was surrounded by a crowd of youths with rocks and he only hit them while trying to flee the area in fear of his life.
Mr Be'eri was released on police bail after being questioned.
His supporters in the Israeli parliament, the Knesset, said the incident highlighted what they said was the Palestinian tactic of using children to terrorise local communities.
'Hit and run'
The father of one of the boys said his son didn't have time to get out of the way as the car sped towards him and another boy, both of whom needed hospital treatment for their injuries.
Muhammad Mansur said that when he saw the pictures of the boy hitting the car's windscreen, he was amazed his son survived.
The Palestinian Authority condemned what it called a "hit and run crime" and called on Israel to ensure that settlers should not be above the law.
Two weeks ago, a young Palestinian man was killed in Silwan by an Israeli security guard, who was later released.
Here's what Honest Reporting have to say about it:
MSM, Stone Throwers Collude and Collide In Silwan
How did so many photographers happen to be in the right place at the time?
Press photographers showed their true colors on Friday, colluding with Palestinian rock-throwers in Silwan.
The results: Photographers walked away with graphic photos and video footage. Imran Mansur, age 11, was left with a broken leg; Israel was smeared as the images rapidly hit the news stream.
The Guardian published an AFP/Getty Images photo with the following tip for photographers, nothing could be further from the truth:
But Yefimovich wasn't the only photographer who simply got lucky. The incident was also captured by the Associated Press, the European Pressphoto Agency and Al Jazeera, among other news services. How did everyone manage to be in "the right place at the right time?"
HonestReporting put the question to David Katz, veteran photographer and imagery advisor. He offered four reasons why he was sure the incident was set up, with collusion between the rock-throwers and the photographers.
1. The Location
Also, the only photographers who can safely work in Silwan are the ones who are already known to the locals. Newcomers wouldn't be allowed to operate, and would be in physical danger. I've seen it.
Confirming Katz's latter point, an Israeli Channel 2 film crew was stoned in the same area on Sunday.
2. The Photographers' Positions
3. Reactions to the Hit and Run
4. The Dynamics of Staged Stoning Attacks
It's the same dynamic HonestReporting noted after a fatal Israeli-Lebanese border clash in August. In that incident, five Reuters photographers and others happened to be on hand on the Lebanese side of the border when Israeli soldiers doing routine maintenance work came under fire.
That time, the fallout was more than a broken leg. An Israeli commander, two Lebanese soldiers, and a Lebanese journalist were killed.
In both Silwan and Lebanon, the press was tipped off ahead of ahead of time, but gave the impression that the incidents were spontaneous. They clearly weren't. What happened in Silwan wasn't news -- it was a staged photo-op.
This is a media creation. The incident would not have happened without the presence of willing journalists and does not reflect the reality of the situation. The resulting images will be used for further propaganda, a new type of "fact" on the ground in the media battle.
How did so many photographers happen to be in the right place at the time?
Press photographers showed their true colors on Friday, colluding with Palestinian rock-throwers in Silwan.
The results: Photographers walked away with graphic photos and video footage. Imran Mansur, age 11, was left with a broken leg; Israel was smeared as the images rapidly hit the news stream.
The Guardian published an AFP/Getty Images photo with the following tip for photographers, nothing could be further from the truth:
The photographer, Ilia Yefimovich, is in the right place at the right time and captures this dramatic scene using a large depth of field and fast shutter speed.
But Yefimovich wasn't the only photographer who simply got lucky. The incident was also captured by the Associated Press, the European Pressphoto Agency and Al Jazeera, among other news services. How did everyone manage to be in "the right place at the right time?"
HonestReporting put the question to David Katz, veteran photographer and imagery advisor. He offered four reasons why he was sure the incident was set up, with collusion between the rock-throwers and the photographers.
1. The Location
Silwan isn't really the most tense place. Photographers waiting for stone-thowings would be more likely to go to places like Bilin or Hebron. You wouldn't hang around Silwan unless you knew ahead of time that something was going to happen.
Also, the only photographers who can safely work in Silwan are the ones who are already known to the locals. Newcomers wouldn't be allowed to operate, and would be in physical danger. I've seen it.
Confirming Katz's latter point, an Israeli Channel 2 film crew was stoned in the same area on Sunday.
2. The Photographers' Positions
When photographers are getting ready for something, but they're not sure how it's going to play out, they tend to position themselves close together. Here, the photographers are more spread out at different sides of the action. It seems everyone wanted to get their own unique position.
Israel has security cameras around Silwan, so there may be CCTV footage of what happened before, during, and after the stone-throwing. If there is, there are a few things I'd watch for. At what point did the photographers position themselves? The other cars parked there: were they deliberately put there? At what point was the back window hit? If other cars were allowed to safely pass before the stone throwing, it would shed light on whether they were targeting the driver (the driver, David Be'eri, is the director of Elad, which advocates for Jewish families living in eastern Jerusalem), or whether they just happened to get him.
If the stone throwing were really spontaneous, the kids should've been throwing from above. It's safer for them, and they can do as much damage, if not more. But that's less photogenic.
3. Reactions to the Hit and Run
When a car's coming at you, and hits a kid, your first thought is your personal safety and what's happening to the boy. But when you watch the video, nobody looks scared, nobody screams in horror. The children just continue throwing stones and the photographers keep snapping photos.
I have to wonder what the photographers were expecting. What would they have done if the car had stopped? Everyone there knows that when a car is stoned, the driver's in greater danger if he just stops. Is that what the photographers thought would happen?
As human beings, the photographers should've warned the police. But today's Mideast photographers are a different breed. Because of the nature of the business -- it's a cash cow -- why spoil a good picture?
4. The Dynamics of Staged Stoning Attacks
Adults, perhaps one of the local elders, will tell the kids to throw stones. Another adult who has connections and friends with photographers will tip them off.
It's absolute collusion. Why? It's either for money, for politics, or both. The news agencies want these images because they sell, and they fit in with their worldview. Photographers know these kinds of images will move. Most importantly, if there had been no photographers present, there would have been no incident.
It's the same dynamic HonestReporting noted after a fatal Israeli-Lebanese border clash in August. In that incident, five Reuters photographers and others happened to be on hand on the Lebanese side of the border when Israeli soldiers doing routine maintenance work came under fire.
That time, the fallout was more than a broken leg. An Israeli commander, two Lebanese soldiers, and a Lebanese journalist were killed.
In both Silwan and Lebanon, the press was tipped off ahead of ahead of time, but gave the impression that the incidents were spontaneous. They clearly weren't. What happened in Silwan wasn't news -- it was a staged photo-op.
This is a media creation. The incident would not have happened without the presence of willing journalists and does not reflect the reality of the situation. The resulting images will be used for further propaganda, a new type of "fact" on the ground in the media battle.
and thanks for adding more information to this gross example of misreporting that we are used to by the BBC. 