5/20/09 onward: Pathological photo-bias re Netanyahu, Ahmadinejad

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Previously: 5/13/09: (Kennedy-esque) Obama "warns" (sinister-looking) Netenyahu; predictable Israel-hatred ensues (with approval!!!)

As you read this, keep in mind Ms. Huffington's claim that HuffPost is a "nonpartisan" source of news, and her admonition that, "A lot of the discontent with traditional journalism is because too many reporters have forgotten that the highest calling of journalists is to ferret out the truth, consequences be damned."

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May 20, 2009: HuffPost's choice of photos to depict the world's most notorious Islamist terror-supporting, genocide-denying (and threatening) psychopath

On May 20, 2009, HuffPost published on its front page a story, Iran Missile Test: Ahmadinejad Says It's Within Israel's Range.

Now look at the picture it chose to use to depict Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the Holocaust-denying, Holocaust-threatening madman, who presides over the #1 state sponsor of global terrorism:


Let's take a closer look at that Che Gueverra-like profile of the new Hitler, in such a principled pose, that HuffPost chose to employ for this front page image:


And what picture did HuffPost choose to employ for the story-comment thread?

Why, a positively rousing image of an enthusiastic Ahmadinejad, speaking to his supporters, even with flowers thrown in!!!


So what other pictures of Ahmadinejad could HuffPost have chosen to use (or crop, a la its practice when it comes to Netenyahu)? Here are just a few, readily available from a 5-minute search on the Google:

Given HuffPost's choice of pictorial enhancements for this story, what sorts of user comments do you think were generated? Although the 130+/- comments that appeared on PDFs captured of this thread at 10:00am were from across the political spectrum, the majority of those that HuffPost published (which it reviewed and approved) fell along the following lines:

HowietheScreamer I'm a Fan of HowietheScreamer permalink
Funny the only one talking about attacking someone is Israel.
Reply Favorite Flag as abusive Posted 08:55 AM on 05/20/2009

DebitCardsRGreat I'm a Fan of DebitCardsRGreat permalink
Folks, this is propanganda to get you foaming at the mouth for an attack on I ran. Always the same ............the USA stirs the pot and then strikes.
Reply Favorite Flag as abusive Posted 08:22 AM on 05/20/2009

Alboots I'm a Fan of Alboots permalink
Iran has every right to develope any type of weapon they want. Its their country and they can protect any way they feel fit. Isnt that what freedom is?
Reply Favorite Flag as abusive Posted 10:03 AM on 05/20/2009

gjohntheterrible I'm a Fan of gjohntheterrible permalink
Good mutual annihilation of these two groups of people will be good for the world. Fewer war mongers in the world is not such a bad thing.
Reply Favorite Flag as abusive Posted 10:02 AM on 05/20/2009

Jtt I'm a Fan of Jtt permalink
Yes all this after Israel has consistently threatened the sovereignty of Iran with us egging it on. No surprise. Engagement is the only option here, there will never be a military solution that will work.
Reply Favorite Flag as abusive Posted 09:56 AM on 05/20/2009

RnR I'm a Fan of RnR permalink
Gee, Israel's got them...around 200 of them just to keep the genocidals safe :)
Reply Favorite Flag as abusive Posted 09:46 AM on 05/20/2009

damilitantone I'm a Fan of damilitantone permalink
What do folks expect Iran to do? Sit still and wait to be attacked by Israel? Netanyahu and the hardliners can take credit for Iran producing these weapons so quickly by constantly running their mouths for years about how they were going to take away Iran's nuclear capability. So much for selling "wolf tickets."
Reply Favorite Flag as abusive Posted 09:32 AM on 05/20/2009

DebitCardsRGreat I'm a Fan of DebitCardsRGreat permalink
Exactly. Iran isn't working on nukes but I wish they would because a stalemate is needed in that region.
Reply Favorite Flag as abusive Posted 09:26 AM on 05/20/2009

dmann32 I'm a Fan of dmann32 permalink
Oh . . . stop hyperventilating already! Israel will never see any missile of consequence hit it from Iran. You know this!
Reply Favorite Flag as abusive Posted 09:16 AM on 05/20/2009

PresidentRobertBooth I'm a Fan of PresidentRobertBooth permalink
This is for ego purposes. Iran are trying to show the world "look....we are strong...we can build a missile". All the world has to do is say "Yes...that's nice" and it will essentially solve the problem. There is no serious threat of Iran attacking Israel. None whatsoever.
Reply Favorite Flag as abusive Posted 08:55 AM on 05/20/2009

dmann32 I'm a Fan of dmann32 permalink
All of you on here who are rabidly and blindly Pro-Israel . . . THIS is the sort of thing that happens when you vociferously tout ultra right wing neocon designs for the region! Thank you Bibi and the rest of you! Honestly with you guys adamantly swearing that an attack on Iran is 'inevitable' what do you expect Iran to do . . . but flex it's muscle?! ANY country threatened by another more powerful one WOULD try to flex their muscle or at least 'appear' more threatening than they are. [...]
So tell me WHY THE HELL ARE BIBI AND THEM OVER THERE SO G_DAMNED BLOODTHIRSTY!!???
Reply Favorite Flag as abusive Posted 08:35 AM on 05/20/2009

Macready I'm a Fan of Macready permalink
bibi of course and all the zionists, the AIPAC, the NYTimes, etc etc . . will all start sabre rattling what they should be doing is curbing israel . . israel has threatened to nuke Iran . . . israel must be stopped . . . bibi would love another Iraq . . . America has to grow up and wake up . . . and pull the financial and military plug on israel . . . and UN sanctions have to be put in place against israel . . . if not there will be a slide into war and don't think bibi's accomplices in the architecture of illegal invasion of Iraq cheney, rummy, et al won't join him in the shouting for more bloodshed . . what value does war create . . .
Reply Favorite Flag as abusive Posted 08:56 AM on 05/20/2009

It is said that a picture is worth a thousand words.

It should also be considered how the pictures that a "news" resource chooses --- and manipulates --- can inspire such vicious Israel-hatred, and moral equivalency for (if not endorsement) of a murderous, genocidal maniac like Ahmadinejad.

This is especially true for a website like HuffPost, which claims that the only comments that appear on its news threads are there because it reviewed and approved them.



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May 25, 2009: Iranian madman tells the West to shove its proposal to get him to stop his nuke quest. Did HuffPost employ a sinister-looking photo of him to accompany the story? Uh, no.

On May 25, 2009, HuffPost featured Ahmadinejad on its front page once again, in regards to this story: Iran's Ahmadinejad Rejects Western Nuclear Proposal.

So which picture did HuffPost choose to use for this story? Something really sinister, like it employed re Netenyahu --- maybe cropped to just his eyes and nose?

One of the eerie photos available from the Google, highlighted in Addendum 1?

Nope.


Let's have a closer look at this one, shall we?


My goodness, he looks like a right honorable, enthusiastic man, making a passionate, principled speech about...? Let's not go there.

So what kinds of comments did HuffPost review, approve and publish on this story thread? Here's a sampling:

LeeCalif I'm a Fan of LeeCalif permalink
Obama has set a trap for Iran. Demanding an answer to his questions by the end of the
year.
Does Obama think he's now GOD ??
Completely in hand of the Israeli lobby.
Reply Favorite Flag as abusive Posted 10:53 AM on 05/25/2009

babyboomerorig I'm a Fan of babyboomerorig permalink
From the comments on here, I'm assuming that nobody's believing Isreal??
Very good!
Reply Favorite Flag as abusive Posted 10:39 AM on 05/26/2009

Justtellthetruth I'm a Fan of Justtellthetruth permalink
[...]
I don't think anyone else in the WORLD believes or cares about this story, except that it
stands as proof of Israels desperation to turn the US attention away from its horrific settlements and the terror and discord that they sow.
Reply Favorite Flag as abusive Posted 10:58 AM on 05/26/2009

monelis I'm a Fan of monelis permalink
So if I were the Israeli leader I would join the Obama"s team (even though AIPAC has many influences there) and swallow the poison pill and accept the two state solutions and hope for the best.
Reply Favorite Flag as abusive Posted 10:17 AM on 05/26/2009

escobar I'm a Fan of escobar permalink
How convenient.
The Butcher comes to our country looking for money and a green light to attack Iran.
Now they start the propaganda campaign
[...]
What a bunch of heartless lairs the Mosad are.
The US needs to purge itself of that countries influence over our government.
People should not trust anything they say.
Their motives are so unbelievably obvious, they are a deadly joke.
Reply Favorite Flag as abusive Posted 09:53 AM on 05/26/2009

nubiananu I'm a Fan of nubiananu permalink
Here we go.. Are you serious? Isreali's are pointing fingers? The number one
Terrorist in the middle east... They've got to be joking. They murder hundreds of Palestinians daily, These fake wannabe Khasars, has already stolen land that
doesn't belong to them, now I guess they'll procede to assassinate Chavez utilizing their signature killing method of poisoning foreign leaders in which they disagree with.
Reply Favorite Flag as abusive Posted 08:48 PM on 05/25/2009

itsthemedication I'm a Fan of itsthemedication permalink
Remember Israel of the kibbutzim? The strong socialist doctrine of the heady early
days? When did Israel become such a hate monger and manipulator of American
conservatives? Even today, I know Jews that move back to Israel to cash in on the old age social programs that aren't available in the US but are bought and paid for in Israel with American money.
Yep that damn socialist Chavez is liable to send free heating oil to the NorthEast
states again. He must be stopped. As for Bolivia, it 's the first time in history that
the Indians have a voice over the old Spanish ruling class.
Yellow cake is a long, long way from a bomb. Get a grip Israel, and American
zionists. We can see though your lies...
Reply Favorite Flag as abusive Posted 08:58 PM on 05/25/2009

One State Solution I'm a Fan of One State Solution permalink
Keep it up Israel! The more this stuff hits the internet the more exposed it looks.
You can't say 'Israel" anywhere there is room to comment without a cascade of booos and hissses. Just a small taste of how the American people are completely fed up with this so called j state.
Reply Favorite Flag as abusive Posted 08:58 PM on 05/25/2009

THEPILGRIM I'm a Fan of THEPILGRIM permalink
Iran has all the right in the world for a peaceful use of nuclear power.
Israel however has nukes and is a real Terrorist state. We have to remove that
thread for peace once and for all
Reply Favorite Flag as abusive Posted 12:03 PM on 05/25/2009

itsthemedication I'm a Fan of itsthemedication permalink
Better get that new generation of Russian antiaircraft missiles in place soon. The true
fanatics in the middle east are coming for you with American weapons. And so Israel drags us into another round of worldwide terrorism.
Reply Favorite Flag as abusive Posted 10:21 AM on 05/25/2009

20thcenturykid I'm a Fan of 20thcenturykid permalink
Right on! Jerusalem: masters of disinformation. As always, in Iraq, in the Suez war, in painting the Hungarian Revolution as anti-semitic, etc., etc., always making up
disinformation to further their own agenda.
Reply Favorite Flag as abusive Posted 08:08 PM on 05/25/2009

CaliforniaBirdwatcher I'm a Fan of CaliforniaBirdwatcher permalink
I've seen these secret report releases before..all done thru the 'controlled'
American-Israeli press/media. First pick a couple of Socialist/Democratic Countries
who have recently found you out as a WORLD-CLASS CROOK that you are. Then
accuse these Country's Leaders of supporting your ABSOLUTE ARCH ENEMY,
Iran. Get all your WORLDWIDE PRESS OUTLETS FIRED UP AND RELEASE
THIS PIECE OF GARBAGE.......but now, you have a problem with this long-used
vile scheme....THE WORLD HAS AWAKENED BECAUSE IT NOW GETS ITS
NEWS FROM truthful sources, and it knows when you're up to your old tricks.
Reply Favorite Flag as abusive Posted 08:03 PM on 05/25/2009

max I'm a Fan of max permalink
Israel really wants to start a war for the US....what a great friend
Reply Favorite Flag as abusive Posted 07:26 PM on 05/25/2009

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June 3, 2009: Iranian madman spins Holocaust-denying conspiracy theories. Did HuffPost employ a sinister-looking photo of him to accompany the story? Quite the opposite.

On June 3, 2009, HuffPost published a story on its front page, entitled Ahmadinejad: Holocaust A 'Big Deception'.

Now, given that he has been sponsoring terror all over the world, has been responsible for the murder of U.S. soldiers, is building nuke weapons and the means to deliver them, has threatened to wipe Israel off the map --- and is now, once again, denying the systematic murder of 6 million Jews --- might that all cause HuffPost to put up photos of him that are similar in... "sinister-ness" to those it routinely employs for Netenyahu? You must be kidding.

Here is the photo it chose to use of Ahmadinejad for this story teaser, right on the front page:


As if that wasn't enough of an insult... check out the "shiny, happy Mahmoud (Adolf, Jr.)" that HuffPost chose for its top-of-the-page teasers:


Let's have a closer look at that one:


Why, it's almost Norman Rockwell-ish!!! Perhaps that toddler is crying because he's looking at HuffPost's headline photo-editors on a laptop and screaming, "What is your major malfunction? How can you constantly depict this genocidal madman as some kind of eternally-happy, gentle creature?"

For the final insult, though, follow the link to the story thread and see some of the insighful, Comment Policy-compliant comments that this story generated --- which HuffPost reviewed, approved and published. But of course, there was no bias there whatsoever.



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June 14, 2009: HuffPost posts photos of Ahmadinejad and Netanyahu, side-by-side. One is joyous, one is extra-sinister. Can you guess which was which?

On June 14, 2009, HuffPost featured the following top-of-the-thread teaser. Photos of two arch-enemy Middle Eastern leaders, juxtaposed beside each other.

Perhaps the toddler in Addendum 3 didn't cry hard enough, or long enough --- or perhaps HuffPost's photo-editors had their iPods up so high that they couldn't hear him.


How about a closer look?


Nope, no bias there.

At this point, we can't help but wonder:

Is this incident representative of HuffPost's claims that it is "covering the news in a 21st-century kind of way," and operating according to "new ideas about balance and fairness"?

If such unbiased, purely objective "reporting" induced The Atlantic Philanthropy to help fund HuffPost's multi-million dollar effort to develop its own "investigative journalism" division?

In any case, you can follow the thoughtful, tolerant and loving comments at the first thread here:

Post-Election Iran: What America Must Do Now

And at the second thread, here:

Netanyahu Accepts Limited Palestinian State

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June 16, 2009: Iranian madman: "I'm ready for my closeup, Ms. Huffington"

That much is evident, Mahmoud.

On June 16, 2009, HuffPost published on its front page two stories about Israel, and Iran:

Bill Clinton: Netanyahu Speech Is Just Opening Act

and

Ahmadinejad In Russia Blasts US, Declares An End To The "Age Of Empires"

Now, being that Netenyahu had just made a major speech in which he laid out his vision for peace with the Muslim world, his proposal for a Palestinian state, and his concerns about the Iranian madman --- who was at this time reveling in his electoral "victory" --- one might think that HuffPost would put up pictures of Netanyahu that are at least neutral.

One would be wrong.

Here is the photo that HuffPost chose to run of Netanyahu:


It's worth taking a look --- what pictures did other media outlets use for stories regarding Netanyahu's speech? Take a look, below. Note the fundamental difference in "feel" of these photos --- and the fact that the picture HuffPost chose to use is clearly not from Netanyahu's June 14 speech (note the tie, backdrop, etc.). First, the TimesOnline (London):


Next, from BloombergNews:


Here's CNN's story:



Now, moving along to the story of Ahmadinejad "blasting the U.S. from Russia"... what type of picture do you think HuffPost chose to use to supplement it? Something truly sinister, right? Or at least commensurate to... the chilliness of the one that it chose to employ for Netanyahu, right?

Wrong.


And here's how hard HuffPost was pushing this "shiny, happy" image of Ahmadinejad... by including this picture in its top-of-the-page teasers, as well:


Yes, this must be what HuffPost means when it claims that it is "covering the news in a 21st-century kind of way," and operating according to "new ideas about balance and fairness" --- as opposed to its other statements about being a "nonpartisan" news source, which "debunks the left-right way of thinking."


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Also see:

5/16/09: Telling half-truths about Netenyahu approval rating
Propaganda usually contains some carefully-selected kernel of truth, wrapped up in a lot of fluff to advance one's biases. In this case, HuffPost used selected, decontextualized polls to support the contention implied its headline --- while ignoring other, readily-available numbers that would have provided a far more accurate context, but would also have undermined its bias.

9/24/09: HuffPost's blackout of Netanyahu's blockbuster speech at the U.N.
On September 23, there were two notable speeches at the U.N. Israeli PM Netanyahu gave a passionate, fact-based, point-by-point rebuttal to the most egregious libels to which the State of Israel, its military, and the Jewish people in general, have been subjected in recent years. Libyan dictator and madman Moammar Gaddafi gave a 95-minute rant. Guess which speech HuffPost put near the top of its front page, and asked whether it contained "valid points" --- and which it refused to even acknowledge the existence of? Need you ask?

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