Media reports data reported by Hamas as fact.

[bmw]

This has been going on for a while now.

This just today:

In Israel, at least 1,400 people have been killed and 6,900 others have been injured since Oct. 7, according to Israeli officials. In the neighboring Gaza Strip, at least 10,515 people have been killed and more than 26,000 have been injured, according to the Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry.

https://abcnews.go.com/International/li ... =104617602

How is it responsible for mainstream media outlets to report numbers as claimed by a terrorist organization as fact? Even David Muir did this several times in his interview a few nights ago with Netanyahu.

I can't find any evidence that the media has conducted any kind of independent verification of these numbers - they just report them as fact.

[Round Six]

Anything the media is reporting should be taken with a grain of salt. No matter which way they lean.

"According to an unnamed source ..." can be the news station's janitor. Is it a lie? No. Anytime you see "According to someone not authorized to comment ...", your BS meter should peg.

We all know all the fiction and distortions on different websites. All the media has to do is find a website reporting what they want to exploit, and call it an anonymous source. It's like saying "Smith wasn't immediately available to comment" and spinning it to appear Smith is refusing to comment, which may not be true.

In defense of ABC in bmw's post above, they did say "According to..." and named who said it. Level headed viewers should be able to discern what they are being told may not be the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. From either side.

[Matt]

This has been going on for a while now.

This just today:

In Israel, at least 1,400 people have been killed and 6,900 others have been injured since Oct. 7, according to Israeli officials. In the neighboring Gaza Strip, at least 10,515 people have been killed and more than 26,000 have been injured, according to the Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry.

https://abcnews.go.com/International/li ... =104617602

How is it responsible for mainstream media outlets to report numbers as claimed by a terrorist organization as fact? Even David Muir did this several times in his interview a few nights ago with Netanyahu.

I can't find any evidence that the media has conducted any kind of independent verification of these numbers - they just report them as fact.

Has Disney moved Pete Thamel to the news operation?

[Round Six]

Has Disney moved Pete Thamel to the news operation?

Thank you Beavis for your insightful comment on the topic. Once again your penetrative analysis is appreciated.

[bmw]

In defense of ABC in bmw's post above, they did say "According to..." and named who said it. Level headed viewers should be able to discern what they are being told may not be the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. From either side.

I disagree. Let's review the wording again:

In Israel, at least 1,400 people have been killed and 6,900 others have been injured since Oct. 7, according to Israeli officials. In the neighboring Gaza Strip, at least 10,515 people have been killed and more than 26,000 have been injured, according to the Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry.

Those 2 sentences do not belong in the same paragraph. One source is a group of officials representing an internationally recognized country that also happens to be our ally. The other source is an entity that is speaking on behalf of a terrorist organization. Equal weight should not be attached to these two claims.

Moreover, they're still reporting Hamas' claim as fact. They state the fact and then source it. If you can't verify the claim independently, then it should read something like "the terrorist-run Gaza Health Ministry claims that at least 10,515 people have been killed and more than 26,000 have been injured in the Gaza Strip. ABC News is unable to independently verify these numbers."

Also, if you go and watch David Muir's interview with Netanyahu, Muir brings up those Hamas-claimed numbers twice, the second time to which Netanyahu points out the obvious - that you have to consider who the source is. And immediately after Netanyahu says that, Muir A THIRD TIME re-states those numbers as if they're fact.

[zzand]

"Moreover, they're still reporting Hamas' claim as fact. They state the fact and then source it. If you can't verify the claim independently," I understand this statement but even though it is a recognized country and government I have seen no independent verification of the number of dead and injured in Israel either and I say this as a card carrying Jewish person.

[Deleted User 9015]

They shouldn't be reporting any of these numbers, but at least they disclose the source so that people who are listening can conclude that they are likely fake. Those numbers from Palestine sound so fake and inflated lol. 10k is a lot of fucking people.

[Round Six]

.... One source is a group of officials representing an internationally recognized country that also happens to be our ally. The other source is an entity that is speaking on behalf of a terrorist organization. Equal weight should not be attached to these two claims ....

Sorry but we disagree.

What Hamas says, what Israel says, what Washington says, what every news organization from ABC News to the Western Nebraska Observer says. There's a spin. Always has been. Always will be. It's the nature of the beast. Anyone thinking we should trust one source over another is highly amusing to me.