HuffPost rewrites AP headline: "Israel attacked Syria!!!!" (AOL parent says otherwise)

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For the second day in a row, on April 27 HuffPost featured the following "news" headline on its front page, which asserted that Israel attacked Syria for no reason, and without provocation:

"Israel Launches Airstrike On Syria Border"

But is that really what happened?  Of course not.

How do we know?  Because the AP source article that HuffPost published clearly describes what happened, starting in the first paragraph:

JERUSALEM (AP) — Israel's military said Sunday it launched an airstrike on its border with Syria after spotting militants carrying a bomb in the Israeli-held Golan Heights. The military said it carried out the strike after troops saw "a group of armed terrorists" approach the border with an explosive intended to target Israeli troops. It said that Israeli aircraft "targeted the squad, preventing the attack."

Oh, so this defensive military action was precisely targeted, and intended only to prevent any more Israeli soldiers or civilians from being murdered in similar fashions (as in recent incidents here, here, and elsewhere).  

And that is exactly how the AP wrote the headline for this article (at right), which it provided to its subscribers (including HuffPost):

"Israel says airstrike on Syrian border targeted militants" (AP feed)

Every major (actual) news source that picked up the AP story used the original headline provided headline (or with only slight modifications):

"Israel says airstrike on Syrian border targeted militants" (ABC News)

"Israeli airstrike on Syrian border targets suspected militants" (Boston Globe)

"Israel Says Airstrike on Syrian Border Targeted Militants" (New York Times)

Yet HuffPost took that headline and deliberately rewrote it in such a way as to give anyone who casually glances at its front page, or its news feed, the false impression that Israel attacked Syria for no reason.  This journalistic malpractice feeds the radical Islamist lie that Israel is the main aggressor in the Middle East, and that jihadis are justified in defending themselves against its unprovoked violence.
 

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Ironically, even AOL, which owns HuffPost, ran the AP story as-is:

AOL, which bought HuffPost in 2011, ran this story as-is, without incendiary alteration:
 

So why would Arianna choose to rewrite the AP's headline to incite hatred against Israel, and Prime Minister Netanyahu, on such an easily-disprovable basis? 

Only she, as HuffPost's "Editor-In-Chief," can answer that question.  But based on HUFF-WATCH's seven years of documenting HuffPost's chronic lies, deception and incitement, here are two probable explanations:

(1) Because she and her minions at HuffPost have gotten away with doing this, and far worse, to Israel and Jews for many years.

(2) Because no one will hold her to account --- not AOL, not other "journalists," and not the "journalism" schools to which she frequently lectures. 

Just a few examples of HuffPost's previous deliberate efforts to depict Israel as an aggressor, using false headlines:

It begins: HuffPost depicts Israeli strike on suspected Syrian WMD truck convoy as targeting civilians

Is HuffPost even more anti-Israel than the Iranian regime is? Yes – and here's the proof. 

HuffPost headline falsely claims Israel broke peace, used tank to fire on Gaza civilians 

HuffPost works hard to protect Hamas, vilify Israel - again 

HuffPost's anti-Israel incitement: Dog execution edition

Ironically, Arianna lamented in 2011 that public figures need to be held to account, or else bad things happen:

"It's like when a toddler looks right at you and slowly and deliberately spills a glass of milk. The child wants to see the reaction. It's a test of boundaries. If there's no reaction, then the message is that it's OK."

- Arianna Huffington, November 28, 2011

Thanks to the complicity of the "news" media, and even those at the highest levels of the Jewish community, however, Arianna and HuffPost keep getting away with inciting hate against Israel (and Netanyahu).  

And being that HuffPost is the #1 most-read online "newspaper" in the world, which has repeatedly claimed to be "nonpartisan," it has become a major driving factor in the dramatic rise in global anti-Semitism and anti-Israel hatred.

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How does this all compare to Arianna Huffington's claims that HuffPost is a professional "newspaper," and better than its competitors?

“[T]he news is not right-wing news or left-wing news, it's the news. And that will be the sensibility, that will basically permeate our news coverage.”
- Arianna Huffington

“We are aiming to go beyond just facts, to create a narrative. We think bringing journalism to a new level is exactly what people are looking for.”
- Arianna Huffington

"If you're going to produce great journalism, you have to build a team of people who are working together and driving toward the same goals editorially.”
- Arianna Huffington

“[T]oo many reporters have forgotten that the highest calling of journalists is to ferret out the truth, consequences be damned."
- Arianna Huffington

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ACTION ITEMS

If you believe HuffPost should start living up to its repeated claims of nonpartisanship, particularly in its coverage of Israel and terrorism, we urge you to do three things:

(1) Make your voice known to HuffPost's senior management here

(2) Consider writing or calling one or more of HuffPost's top advertisers, to let them know your thoughts on what their ad dollars are enabling.An easy way to approach this is to scan our easy-to-use directory and find one or two corporations that you are a customer of, or have stock in. Your concerns will automatically be given considerably more weight. Also, request a follow-up after they've had a chance to review the evidence; don't let them off the hook, or sweep this under the rug.

(3) Forward the link to this story along to others who support honest civil discourse (especially honest journalists).

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