Wednesday, April 11, 2007

4/6/07: Decontextualized headline re IDF retaliation against terrorists incites Israel- and Jew-hate, blood libels, etc.



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Another egregious example of how HuffPost tells only half of a story concerning Israel's efforts to defend itself against Islamist terror, then reviews, approves and decides to publish user comments containing anti-Israel and anti-Semitic hatred, libels and conspiracy theories --- and allows them to remain active users for years.. See archive of such incidents, here.


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On April 7, 2007, HuffPost's front-page splash
headline read:
Israel Fires Missiles Into Gaza

The story page that this headline led to appeared as is shown below (captured on June 20, 2009):


The only copy HuffPost provided, with which to frame the context of this incendiary headline, was (and is) as follows:
BBC:

Israeli helicopters fired at least two missiles into the northern Gaza Strip early on Saturday.

Local residents said the missiles targeted militants near the Jabalya refugee camp.

Read the whole story: BBC

Well, let's read the source article (from BBC) to which HuffPost helpfully provided a link (emphasis added):
The Israeli army says that since a ceasefire was declared last November, militants have fired at least 200 rockets into Israel. [...]

Islamic Jihad said its militants and others from another group were mounting an operation near the border when Israel fired the missiles. [...]

On Monday, Israeli Defence Minister Amir Peretz authorised the army to carry out limited operations against militants in Gaza to try to stop attacks against Israel. [...]

Two militants were wounded in the attack, Palestinian sources said.

So, while it is technically true that Israel fired rockets into Gaza --- it was not, as the headline alone would imply, a spur-of-the-moment decision that broke any "peace", nor was it unjustified. It was in direct retaliation against specific targets that were continuing in their relentless quest to murder its citizens.

It should also be noted that these terrorists fired off "at least 200 rockets" into Israel. What was not mentioned is that these rockets, like the thousands preceding them, were not targeted at Israel's military installations --- rather, they were targeting its civilian population centers. Israel responded with two retaliatory strikes, which were precisely targeted at the terrorists' rocket-launching sites --- just as they were about to launch more rockets, by their own admission. (And for those with a fetish for dictating what shall be determined "proportionate" actions, the score here is 200 terrorist rockets fired at civilians, vs. 2 Israeli missiles targeted to those launching them.)

Thus, we contend that any legitimate "news" website with even a passing acquaintance with basic journalistic standards, and an interest in honestly describing events in the Middle East, should have written this story's headline along the lines of:
"Israel fires missiles at terrorist rocket launch site; 2 wounded"

This is especially true given what was well-known by anyone who observed HuffPost at this time, and the users it was attracting: that such an incendiary headline, especially without a contextual description on the story page, could only incite many user comments containing vicious, vile, anti-Israel, and anti-Semitic hate and blood libels.

And this is
exactly what occurred.

The following are some of the hundreds of user comments that HuffPost published on this thread. Note that if you follow the link to this thread now, all comments have been removed from the thread (what a shock).

Notes: "[...]" indicates that a comment has been edited for brevity. Emphasis has been added.
Is there a Nation out there that will STOP the JEWS from killing innocent woman and children once and for all ?
I just cant wait for the next Hollocaust, it will be faster and cleaner now that Seimens built a 500 seater Microwave Oven
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[...]
By: BUSHCHENEYOILNAZIS on April 07, 2007 at 04:49am

When Israel says they "Targeted Militants", it always means they killed some poor Civilians mostly Women and Children.
By: forpeace on April 06, 2007 at 08:17pm

It's criminal. War crimes.Israels Genocide of the Palestinians.
By: tellintruth on April 06, 2007 at 10:45pm

Americans....read behind the story a bit here and understand that:(1) These missiles aimed at the refugee camp were made in America,(2) Paid for by YOUR tax dollars,(3) Fired from US made and paid for aircraft,(4) By pilots who were trained by America at America's expense. Israel has no economy. No real industry except government, and most of that is military, aimed at killing Palestinians. Mostly women and children. Israel is a giant welfare state that YOU, Americans pay for to the tune of US$15million per day. Israel is a leech on the US Treasury, and would not exist except it is propped up by successive corrupt US Administrations. And you, dear Americans pay for it all. You have no health care system, crumbling infrastructure, violent and unachieving schools and a military that has had its power and integrity squandered by criminals. Thanks to Israel. Happy Passover! Happy Easter! Feel better now?
By: 1TruthTeller on April 06, 2007 at 08:24pm

On the same day that those scumbag Jewish soldiers shot and killed two men in the back, they shot another in the legs and left him to bleed to death.This happens every single day.
Israels will shoot Palestinians and leave them to bleed to death, preventing medical personnel to reach them and forcing their families to watch their loved ones die. The purpose of this barbarism is to break the will and spirit of the Palestinian people.

By: tellintruth on April 07, 2007 at 12:46am

Back in the late seventies the Israelis went into Lebanon, and then all of a sudden, in less than two days time, the Israelis turned around and went back to Israel. Years later we found out that President Carter made a phone call to Prime Minister Begin telling him that if they didn't turn around, he would report to Congress that the new F-16's we just sent them were being used as offensive weapons. Thus ending new shipments to Israel for a while. That's all it takes...
By: troubledwawa on April 06, 2007 at 08:39pm

I'm starting to have no sympathy for the Israelinazis. They get what they deserve.
By: motormouth on April 06, 2007 at 08:55pm

Unable to compete on a level playing field, Israel destroys Lebanon's and the Palestinians' source of economic sustenance, like orchards, olive groves and tourism. Then it steals their land and fences it in.All the evidence points to a failed society and a failed economy, and a violent bully flailing about with impunity trying not to drown in a quagmire of its own making. That's Israel for you. Ahmeninejad was right, Israel will wipe itself off the map, by its own cruelty.
By: 1TruthTeller on April 06, 2007 at 09:21pm

It's Good Friday, so of course somebody had to die..Shalom..
By: TJTelecaster on April 06, 2007 at 10:17pm

Israel cannot use the weapons we supply to them for offensive action. Why the hell can't we pull the plug on this senseless slaughter? I am sick of dancing around these Israeli apologists....
By: bikerdude on April 06, 2007 at 11:07pm

Megaphone desktop tool is a Microsoft Windows application distributed by the World Union of Jewish Students and other pro-Israel organizations, through the Giyus.org website. [...]
By: ghosts on April 06, 2007 at 11:55pm

Oh STFU about this anti-semitism garbage. Jewish and israeli groups have been using that bat to beat democracy into a pulp all to arm Israel to continue its genocide against the Palestinians and wars against the innocent of the Middle East. The only groups terrorizing campuses are Jewish, Israeli and zionist groups.
Campuswatch.com (This Daniel Pipes Facist organization that terrorizes any intellectual and institution that criticizes Israel)They Dared to Speak Out: People & Institutions confront Israeli Lobbysby former Congressman Paul Findlay documents with impressive and terrifying accuracy the intellectual terrorism and crippling of Americas democracy by Jewish and Zionist groups.An article by Harvard researchers outlining israels strangle hold on Americas foreign policy... [...]
By: tellintruth on April 07, 2007 at 12:01am

Didn't Israel kill SIX UN envoys in Lebanon this past summer? Yes. They did. Finally, daily rockets are NOT landing in Israel. You're just lying again b/c the truth makes Israel look criminal.
By: tellintruth on April 07, 2007 at 12:09am

The truth is:There has not been a single rocket fired into Israel since November 2006. Instead of addressing the fact that she LIED and got caught in yet another lie, she just keeps lying and squawking. Why dont you and your shlomos move to Tel Aviv and let my Hammas supervisors know exactly where to find you.
By: tellintruth on April 07, 2007 at 01:22am

I dont HATE JEWS....I believe that every ARAB should own ONE !
By: BUSHCHENEYOILNAZIS on April 07, 2007 at 05:12am

Sometimes the israelis do that to divert attention from the local trouble and scandals that are gripping their leaders from sex scandals , and corruption and money laundering. so the locals can watch something else happening in gaza for a change .
By: nefertiti on April 07, 2007 at 05:15am

The state of Israel was formed solely because of a successful terrorist campaign against Britain. Why should we accord them any more legitimacy than we accord Hamas? At least Hamas makes a point of providing social services to their constituents, something the Haganah, the terror organization that became the Israeli government, never did.
By: SamThornton on April 06, 2007 at 11:27pm

At a time like this, it's worth revisiting HuffPost's (supposed)
Comment Policy and Terms of Service --- and wondering how, barely one month after the "Cheney thread" fiasco (see Section 1 here), the above could have appeared on HuffPost's top news thread, without it being fully aware of what was transpiring? Of how it would make HuffPost look --- especially if someone pointed out the correlation between its decontextualized headline, and its history of attracting vicious Israel-haters, propagandists and anti-Semites?

Only HuffPost can answer that question. Perhaps someday, someone in a position of influence will ask them to do so.


So, what happened to the users whom HuffPost (supposedly inadvertently) allowed to post such vile hatred, blood libels and slurs against Jews, and Israel in general, on this thread? Let's take a look.

The following screen captures and PDFs were obtained on June 19, 2009 --- more than two years after this thread, and the above comments, were posted.

For reference, when HuffPost bans a user, the following screen comes up --- in this case, regarding a non-violating* user, "EllisWyatt," whom it banned in the Spring of 2009 (*extensive proof of such incidents is here):



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(1) "
BUSHCHENEYOILNAZIS," who, apparently incited by HuffPost's incendiary headline, "can't wait for the next Holocaust... ovens..." is apparently still active.

From March 29, 2007 through June 10, 2007 alone, HuffPost allowed him/her to post 1,005 comments:


It is interesting to note that as shown below, his/her very first post, on March 29, 2007 --- one month after HuffPost's "Cheney thread" fiasco --- was his/her wish for Cheney's death (supposedly a clear violation of what HuffPost claimed are its comment policies, re the "Cheney thread"; see here):
That's the way I'd like to see Cheney...all waxed up in a coffin. What's taking Hell so long to claim this war criminal anyway !
posted Mar 29, 2007 at 22:07:28

Rather than immediately banning him/her (as, at this time, it was fast-banning users who dared to stand up to its resident "gang" of radical leftists and pathological violators of its supposed policies), HuffPost allowed him/her to continue on. As shown below, on April 1, 2007 --- six days before the outrages on the "Israel... rockets" thread, this user posted the following:
* I cant wait to hear on the news that a brave hero decided to gun down BUSH and CHENEY. I swear if it happens that I will send this guy a thank you card in jail every birthday. Scums like Bush and Cheney dont deserve to exist in our world. *
posted Apr 01, 2007 at 02:23:18

* Gingrich is another serious lunatic psychopath that wants to run Amerikkkans. He's too fucling stupid to even learn his own language, just imagine another one. He's 1960 Material that Americans dont need as leader. Send him back to that whore house where he was born. *
posted Apr 01, 2007 at 02:36:14

* Dont even give them a trial. Hang them in public with a crane like they always do in Iran. Fuck the Britshit brownnosers Fuck Tony Blair and his Master Chimp BUSH ! *
posted Apr 01, 2007 at 02:46:28

* As much as I hate Carpet Munching Dykes like O'Donnell, For once she is right on the button ! The 9/11 scandals are something that people will be talking about still in 50 years especially Building 7's mystery explosions and archives destruction. BTW, Did they ever find the 6 billion dollars in Gold and the bottom of Twin Towers ? *
posted Apr 01, 2007 at 02:52:17


But those comments and hundreds more (here), all of which were explicit violations of its "comment policies" (here), apparently weren't quite enough of a warning sign to HuffPost that it had a seriously problematic user on its hands.

Finally, following is an excerpt from the PDF of his/her comments from April 7, 2007 (captured on June 19,
2009), validating that s/he indeed made the comments indicated on the "Israel Rockets..." thread:



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(2) "
tellintruth," who, apparently incited by HuffPost's incendiary headline, sounded like s/he is (or may be) an Internet propagandist for Hamas, Hezbollah, Palestinian Islamic Jihad, or the American Nazi Party... is apparently still active. From February 26, 2007 through October 11, 2007, HuffPost allowed him/her to post 802 comments:


Following is an excerpt from the PDF of his/her comments from April 7, 2007 (captured on June 19, 2009), validating that s/he indeed made the comments indicated above:



===========================

(3) "forpeace," who, apparently incited by HuffPost's incendiary headline, parroted the radical Islamists' blood libel that Israelis intentionally murder Muslim civilians then lie about it... well, he/she is still active as of June 19, 2009 --- and is now up to 14,612 comments:


And as of April 1, 2010, HuffPost has left "forpeace"
still active, and to post a total of 27,560 comments (13,000 comments in 9 months):


As you consider all the above, keep in mind that as is shown in the below report, HuffPost has made it a practice of protecting the worst, and ejecting those who challenge or mock them:
HuffPost's protection of the most egregious violators of its "policies" --- and its banning of non-violators, on a minute-to-minute basis

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