For years, HuffPost has been inciting and tolerating hatred of Israel, Jews, conservatives and members of America's armed forces. It has also been protecting the most vile abusers of its policies --- including users who threaten/urge violence against others, and notable public figures --- while banning those who mock or challenge them, some, after as few as six comments. Given this, one might think that that Ms. Huffington would be careful about accusing others of inciting hate.
But on today's "This Week" program, she had the gall to accuse Roger Ailes and Fox News of "inciting" hate, and of "heated exaggeration, suspiciousness, and conspiratorial fantasy." None of the "journalists" on the program called Ms. Huffington out on the fact HuffPost has done, and continues to do far worse than what she accused others of doing.
This special report does so, with extensive documentation.
On the Sunday, January 31 edition of ABC's "This Week," Arianna Huffington engaged in a lively dispute with Fox News Channel chairman & CEO Roger Ailes, over her accusation that he and FNC "incite" hate.
Ailes shot back at her with a very mild rebuke over some hateful things said about him on HuffPost:
"I read something on your blog that said I looked like J. Edgar Hoover, I had a face like a fist, and I was essentially a malignant tumor…Then it really went nasty, and I thought, gee, maybe Arianna ought to cut this out.”
Huffington claimed that none of it was "approved" by the site. But this was just one more of her demonstrably false statements. The ad hominem attacks to which Ailes refers appeared in a hate-filled blog article, which are not published without HuffPost's approval. Here's this part of their exchange (h/t The Right Scoop):
(See a short version of Glenn Beck's response to Ms. Huffington's accusations here)
Mr. Ailes didn't mention anything about how HuffPost routinely incites hatred of Israel, its military and certain Jewish public figures, and against conservative group and individuals, most often based on false/misleading headlines and biased reporting --- in violation of its stated journalistic standards and policies. Nor did he mention anything about how HuffPost actively protects the most egregious violators of its (supposed) commenting policies. We assume this is because he is not aware of our (Huff-Watch's) existence... yet.
As she was left unscathed, and none of the other "journalists" on the panel would call her out on her rank hypocrisy, apparently Ms Huffington felt so protected that the next day, she wrote a blog article in which she doubled-down, and dared to lecture Fox News on journalistic and ethical standards. Excerpts [with emphasis added, and editor notations, as appropriate]:
From the day we launched, HuffPost has always welcomed blog posts from people with whom we disagree, and preferred a full debate about the issues to just preaching to the converted.[Ed.: Wait, according to Ms. Huffington, HuffPost is a "nonpartisan newspaper, not positioned ideologically in terms of how we cover the news,” dedicated to "debunking the left-right way of thinking." So where does "people with whom we disagree" fit into that "nonpartisan" model? Who is this "we," if HuffPost is not monolithic in its "opinions"?]
[At HuffPost] there are guidelines that have to be followed -- and they include a prohibition on conspiracy theories or inflammatory claims.[Ed.: You mean like the following conspiracy theories and inflammatory claims that HuffPost decided to publish, such as...
- That "Hitler meant well" (but Bush didn't)?
- The top-of-the-fold pictorial implication that a 4-year-old Palestinian girl was "a symbol of Hamas Power," and that Israel mercilessly and maliciously struck her with deadly force? (see Example 1 in Section 4, here)
- The blood libel that Israeli Jews conspire to murder Palestinian Muslims to harvest their organs --- when even the reporter said he had "no clue... no idea" if this accusation is true or not?
- The one-sided reporting on a claim that a Jewish conspiracy led a national security post nominee to withdraw --- without even mentioning the strong bipartisan Congressional opposition to him?
- The false claim that the Israeli military essentially murdered a Muslim "activist" (who turned out to be a mass murderer, would not surrender, and opened fire on them)?
- The false insinuation that the U.S. military gave our soldiers Christian bibles and ordered them to proselyetize to Afghanistani Muslims?
- The false claim that "neocons" were rooting for Ahmadinejad's re-election?
- Dramatically overstated U.S. military sexual assault statistics, and the allegation that U.S. soldiers rape because President Bush "lied" to invade Iraq?
- A Thanksgiving "wish" for Vice President Cheney's death?
....Items like those, Ms. Huffington?]
These are actually very good ground rules for Fox News to adopt. I'll send you a copy and cc Roger.For context, it's good to remember that Glenn Beck didn't come out of nowhere. He's the latest example of what the great historian Richard Hofstadter called "the paranoid style in American politics," which he defined as angry minds that traffic in "heated exaggeration, suspiciousness, and conspiratorial fantasy," and that see "the fate of conspiracy in apocalyptic terms... always manning the barricades of civilization."
Sound familiar?
Beck preys on fear, political instability, and economic suffering, which, in turn, means that Fox News profits from fear, political instability, and economic suffering.[Ed.: "Oh what tangled webs we weave, when first we practice to deceive!!" Sir Walter Scott]
To our knowledge, Mr. Ailes has not responded to any of this rank hypocrisy. And via his silence, we fear that this little episode will be viewed in the future as a default win for Ms. Huffington.
We'd like to think that with the advent of Huff-Watch, and all the work that went into this site, things like this won't be allowed to happen in the future without a substantive, fast response. For now, we'll just have to hope that as word gets out about this site and its encyclopedic resources, more and more Americans will begin to hold Ms. Huffington to account for her hypocrisy, and for the unparalleled hatred that HuffPost incites, tolerates, and protects. [Also see: The top five myths about HuffPost --- versus the reality]
Here are some more examples of this phenomenon, and how HuffPost "preys on and profits from fear, political instability, and economic suffering":
Archive of anti-Israel, ant-Semitic bias, libels and hate at HuffPost
Archive of false/misleading HuffPost headlines
SPECIAL REPORT: "The Stimulus And The (Approved) Response: Anti-Semitism and Israel-Hatred on Huffington Post" (summary here)
2/17/10: HuffPost manipulates headline to falsely incriminate Israel in assassination (Users unleash hate; HuffPost: "Approved!!!")
1/27/10: HuffPost twists crime story to focus on irrelevant Jewish aspect; users unleash anti-Semitic hate (HuffPost: "Approved!!!")
12/7/09: Bank of America employee fired for "helping customers"? Really? No. (User outrage erupts; "HuffPost: Approved!!!")
10/27/09: HuffPost publishes false, inflammatory story about Justice Scalia; user hate-fest erupts (HuffPost: "Approved!!!")
8/23/09: Grossly misleading headline about Sen. Lieberman, incites user hate comments (HuffPost: "Approved!!!")
5/23/08: Grossly misleading headline re Israeli Air Force foments torrent of hate (HuffPost: "Approved!!!")
4/7/08: A "report" that McCain called wife a vulgar term turns out to be nothing more than a vicious rumor --- at best
3/16/07: False headline re McCain quote on contraceptives incites torrent of hate comments
HuffPost's protection of the worst-of-the-worst abusers of its "policies," who create far more than merely a "hateful" commenting environment
As close HuffPost observers know, it not only incites hatred, it also tolerates and actively protects users who submit comments containing egregious violations of its stated "policies." This includes users whom it knows have repeatedly threatened/urged violence against others, and notable public figures. At the same time, HuffPost has been censoring and banning those who mock or challenge them... some, after as few as six comments. We've produced a special, detailed report on this matter:
HuffPost's protection of the most egregious violators of its "policies" --- and its banning of non-violators, on a minute-to-minute basis
Some examples:
April '08-present: User boasts about in-home interview by Secret Service re his threats against Bush on HuffPost (HuffPost: "Approved!!," protected!!)
3/23/09: HuffPost Users: "Hey, Let's Commit Murder!!!" (HuffPost: "Approved!!!")
4/12/09: HuffPost Users: "Hey, Let's Murder Bankers!!!" (HuffPost: "Approved!!!")
5/2/09: HuffPost users: "Hey, someone should murder President Bush!!!" (HuffPost: "Approved!!!")
HuffPost's Protection Of Blood Libels Against The U.S. Military
Before you dismiss all this by saying, "Oh, come on, who even reads HuffPost? It's just a blog," consider:
- HuffPost is now the #1 blog on Earth.
- HuffPost now has more monthly visitors than the Washington Post.
- Unlike Fox News, HuffPost's representatives have been allowed to ask questions at presidential press conferences, and one was even given preferential treatment.
- More: Fast facts about HuffPost
If you believe that HuffPost should be held to account for what it has done and is doing, then get active... before someone is hurt, or killed, as a direct or indirect result of the hatred that HuffPost has chosen to incite, tolerate and protect.
Write to HuffPost and Fox News and let them know what you think about all this:
Ms. Huffington's reported email (not confirmed at this time): arianna@huffingtonpost.com
Eric Hippeau, Chief Executive Officer
HuffingtonPost.com
560 Broadway, Suite 308
New York, NY 10012
(212) 245-7844
(646) 557-0803 (Fax)
(email address unavailable at this time)
Mario Ruiz, Vice President - Media Relations, HuffingtonPost.com:
mario@huffingtonpost.com
Fox News Channel: 1-888-369-4762; yourcomments@foxnews.com
Roger Ailes (reported; not confirmed): rogerailes@foxnews.com
Glenn Beck (confirmed): glennbeck@foxnews.com
ABC News "This Week": contact via this page
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UPDATES!!!
This special report is continued here, where you'll find lots of interesting updates:
UPDATE 1, Feb. 21: Arianna Huffington doubles down, dares to call out other public figures for "partisanship" and inciting hate
UPDATE 2, Feb. 26: (1) Will Ms. Huffington also call out leftist talker Ed Shultz for his calls for violence against Dick Cheney? Don't hold your breath; (2) HuffPost creates misleading, hate-inciting splash headline --- then won't report on the bomb threats it helped to inspire
UPDATE 3, Mar. 4: NewsBusters exposes more of Ms. Huffington's continuing hypocrisy
UPDATE 4, Mar. 5: Ms. Huffington continues her hypocrisy, on "Real Time With Bill Maher"
Continue to: Beyond hypocrisy --- Updates
Posts
When there's so much evidence, well marshalled here, detailing Ariana Huffington's bad-faith practices at her blog, I'm sure she finds it very much more convenient to avoid talking about it. In fact, I imagine that her attacks on other media outlets for unfairness or hypocrisy are part of her strategy to keep attention away from her own malfeasance.
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