Case histories Media Lens

1 case histories

1.1 iraq

1.1.1 justification war
1.1.2 reporting of conflict
1.1.3 casualty figures


1.2 srebrenica: chomsky , others
1.3 syria

case histories
iraq
justification war

prior iraq war in 2002, media lens argued fraudulent uk , government claim justification war on basis iraq still possessed credible weapons of mass destruction (wmd) threat , had active wmd program. media lens cited work of former chief un arms inspector scott ritter, had stated 4 years previously, after thorough investigation un inspectors, iraq had been found have fundamentally disarmed 90–95 percent of wmd capability eliminated. editors further cited ritter s opinion have been impossible iraq rearm scratch within 4 years since un had left given level of scrutiny under.

a 30 april 2003 media lens database search, covering period leading , including invasion of iraq found of 5,767 articles published guardian , sister paper observer 12 made mention of scott ritter. according edwards, constituted shocking suppression of serious , credible dissident views , said entirely vindicated . view shared eddie girdner, cites media lens among drew conclusion before war began.

according richard alexander, writing in 2010 iraq war, edwards , cromwell trenchantly dissected servant role british media played in bolstering lies british public purveyed uk government . after referring mountain of evidence assembled cromwell , edwards argument, john jewell wrote conversation website: must remembered press not united in support blair pointing opposition of daily mirror invasion of iraq example. jewell s assertion anti-war mirror not entirely shared media lens criticised respect blair s patent sincerity .

reporting of conflict

media lens in 2003 compared bbc s reporting on iraq war boys own war pornography . cited rhetorical question posed bbc correspondent bridget kendall in 2006, whether iraq war justified or disastrous miscalculation demonstration of personal bias, see being norm , rather meeting requirement reporting impartial. in opinion, excluded arguments of anti-war movement , ex-un secretary general kofi annan, considered have seen war illegal war of aggression .

to sustain argument journalists regularly present inflated assessments of accomplishments of western politicians, have cited comments made andrew marr in 2003, while bbc s political editor. consider marr overtly sympathetic former prime minister. cromwell , edwards asserted in 2003 there never iraqi threat , if tony blair , george w. bush not guilty of war crimes, is?

casualty figures

media lens have challenged mainstream press coverage of extent of killings during conflict. example treatment of data several academic surveys on casualties during iraq war published in lancet academics johns hopkins bloomberg school of public health, estimated 655,000 excess deaths had occurred since invasion, have been expected in absence of conflict. despite survey using recognised statistical methods, findings rejected , uk governments, cited lower figure, position largely supported in , uk media coverage. media lens contrasted media response iraq study, uncritical coverage of similar study same researchers, using same methods, had estimated 1.7 million deaths in congo. following criticism media lens on article written guardian, mathematician john allen paulos acknowledged had been wrong use largely baseless personal assessment , call question findings of lancet study.

media lens challenged independent s mary dejevsky explain editorial comment in paper that, extrapolating small sample... while never discredited, figures doubted . dejevsky responded that, while sample may have been standard, seemed small lay perspective . main point less based on impression on fact technique exposed authors criticisms/dismissal govt duly made, , had little counter criticisms with, bar defence methods standard sort of surveys . response considered incoherent edward herman stated massive incompetence in support of war-apologetic agenda . according mukhopadhyay, exchange evidence journalists, not have statistical expertise evaluate technical reports, not take obvious step of seeking expert advice . reviewing media lens engagement press coverage of lancet study, arvind sivaramakrishna drew similar conclusion stating, political correspondents ignorant of sampling frames , techniques, confidence limits, significance levels, likelihood estimators, , on.

peter beaumont accused group in april 2006, of campaign apparently intended silence john sloboda , iraq body count project, because produced victim count lower lancet study. iraq body count published paper @ time, accused media lens in particular of opponents, of work inaccurate , exaggerated, personal, offensive, , part of concerted campaign undermine ibc s reputation among use our data .

in same month in 2006, david fuller, journalist on newsnight, covered critique of sloboda , ibc s methods , summarised findings on bbc website. media lens editors considered fuller s attack distorted , damaging smear of our work point editors decision not accept invitations appear on newsnight, led fuller accuse them of [refusing] engage in way not allow them total control of interaction. sloboda said media lens pressure group use[s] aggressive , emotionally destructive tactics . media lens in turn have accused sloboda of not being epidemiologist , therefore unqualified undertake, or criticise, studies on unexpected mortalities in iraq. sloboda acknowledged iraq body count amateurs strenuously denied should have negative connotations on work.

in august 2009, z net, website has reprinted media lens alerts, published article robert shone accusing editors of errors in critique of ibc, particularly assumption ibc used western media sources in counting fatalities in iraq. cromwell confirmed in green left weekly interview had responded shone long ago , rebuttals had dropped off bottom of group s (then active) message board. shone s znet article: learned long time ago responding unreasonable critics feeds obsession , inner turmoil. s why stopped.

without meticulous , humane analysis , wrote john pilger of media lens full gravity of debacles of iraq , afghanistan might have been consigned bad journalism s first draft of bad history . in book triumph of political class (2007), conservative journalist peter oborne wrote while researching media coverage of iraq war, had found site extremely useful . media lens unfair highly perceptive .

srebrenica: chomsky , others

concerning srebrenica massacre of july 1995, media lens editors asserted in november 2009, apart affirming massacre did take place, have written virtually nothing srebrenica . sources of conflict critics have been distinction between massacre , act of genocide , freedom contest accepted evidence historical events. (see historical negationism#serbian war crimes in yugoslav wars.) in 2006 alert, took form of open letter responding bbc s correspondent john simpson, had reported belgrade during wars in former yugoslavia, wrote our argument kind of points made chomsky, herman, diana johnstone, , pilger, among others, never seen in mainstream media, bbc included .

the guardian newspaper published on 31 october 2005 interview noam chomsky conducted emma brockes. chomsky complained interview in letter ian mayes readers editor on 3 november 2005, after media lens responded first article on issue on 4 november. guardian apologised within few weeks concluding brockes had misrepresented chomsky s views on srebrenica massacre , support diana johnstone. according guardian, neither of them have ever denied fact of massacre . media lens responded guardian s change of mind in second article posted on 21 november.

the repercussions of brockes interview continued time. ian mayes, readers editor of guardian, wrote on 12 december 2005 several hundred emails media lens followers, campaigning in support of chomsky, mayes himself , brockes. in december 2009, oliver kamm wrote in blog times newspaper media lens had removed website reprint of open letter amnesty international edward s. herman , david peterson in authors, kamm asserted, repeated false claims serb-run detention camps in bosnia had led in 2000 successful libel action brought against lm magazine (originally living marxism) itn.

in june 2011, george monbiot wrote media lens of maintain[ing] herman , peterson entitled talk down numbers killed @ srebrenica . (media lens editors had written in 2009: herman , peterson, then, not denying mass killings took place @ srebrenica. not accept figure cited [oliver] kamm , others, entitled do. ) monbiot wrote herman , media lens had taken unwarranted step of belittling acts of genocide committed opponents of western powers . media lens responded argument had been herman , peterson entitled debate facts not entitled falsify, mislead, wilfully deceive, or whatever talk down intended suggest .

aside holocaust denial, media lens finds particularly insidious because of extreme racism , hatred motivating doubt in particular instance , wrote in august 2011:

to clear, reject right of court, government, indeed anyone, apply labels genocide historical events , then, not merely argue demand accepted. assumption human institutions in possession of absolute truth belongs era of inquisition, not serious debate.

the times commentator oliver kamm ( [o]ne of our relentless critics ) wrote in october 2012: international commission on missing persons (icmp) has revealed identity of 6,598 people missing since fall of srebrenica, through dna analysis of human remains in mass graves. estimates total number of victims around 8,100. if ml maintains deniers [herman , peterson] entitled position, must believe icmp has faked analysis . in opinion, media lens stands genocide deniers in connection herman , colleague, david peterson, both of whom linked in assertions srebrenica holocaust deniers. media lens editors wrote in november 2009, had written defending noam chomsky against guardian s claims in rescinded interview brockes.

syria

rupert read, academic , green party politician, has written media lens tends talk numbers of victims western actions minimise of regimes in conflict west, such of bashar al-assad in syria , slobodan milošević. has written editors use dubious source material on fatalities in conflicts in syria aisling byrne , robert dreyfuss, serves tacitly increase credibility of assad s black propaganda . david edwards responded pilger, david peterson , others, responded positively alerts on syria , have received literally 1 negative response – rupert read . issue raised oliver kamm later in 2012.

the cartoonist , writer martin rowson in june 2012, suggested in tribune media lens editors indulge in shilling tyrants , following exchange them on twitter in editors accused him of depicting bloodstained bashar al-assad after houla massacre, without having evidence of assad regime s responsibility atrocity , using cartoonist s hunch proof. asked rowson on twitter: rely on hunch in depicting obama , cameron mouths smeared blood of massacred children? according rowson though, accusing them of advocating literalness in work: despite repeated requests, still won’t or can’t tell me why don’t demand evidence alleging merkel [angela merkel] , lagarde [christine lagarde] have desecrated corpses .

in february 2017, media lens wrote assad has been uk journalism s number 1 hate figure years treated being on par earlier enemies slobodan milosevic, osama bin laden, saddam hussein , muammar gaddafi (arguably, assad same archetypal enemy in minds of many corporate journalists) . later in june, media lens criticised journalist brian whitaker support of journalist seymour hersh. in article wrote hersh had falsely rejected claims assad s forces had made chemical weapons attack using sarin gas in khan shaykhun in april 2017.