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看著看門狗：嬰兒和真相在以色列和巴勒斯坦一起死去
以色列與巴勒斯坦的衝突不僅發生在地面軍隊和武裝人員之間，也發生在媒體報導之間。
當美國總統拜登公開表達對上週末入侵以色列南部並斬首他們在卡法阿扎基布茲殺害的嬰兒的哈馬斯武裝分子的憤怒時，公眾的震驚既廣泛又可以理解。 這個可怕的消息在幾個小時內就傳遍了世界各地的媒體。
但隨後的報導顯示，此類斬首事件尚未得到任何以色列或國際消息來源的證實——可能是因為它們從未發生過。 這只是透過大眾媒體在公共領域散播假報道、詆毀敵人、支持盟友的戲劇性事件。 類似的假報道每天都在媒體上流傳，儘管不一定那麼野蠻，也不一定是由地球上最有權勢的人物這樣的名人傳播的，而巴勒斯坦和以色列的激烈衝突已經導致全球輿論兩極分化。
那麼，我們該如何評價拜登和嬰兒事件呢？ 關於媒體傳播的假新聞的危險以及美國政府對這場衝突的態度，它告訴我們什麼？
嬰兒斬首的故事起源於以色列 i24News 網站記者妮可·澤德克 (Nicole Zedeck) 採訪以色列預備役士兵大衛·本·錫安 (David Ben Zion) 的報道。 馬克斯·布盧門撒爾和亞歷山大·魯賓斯坦 10 月 11 日報道稱，本·錫安是以色列西岸定居者運動中臭名昭著的激進領導人。 除此之外，他今年早些時候呼籲狂暴的武裝定居者消滅巴勒斯坦村莊哈拉瓦，定居者多次襲擊並燒毀該村莊。
世界各地媒體迅速轉載了 i24News 的報道，以色列總理發言人表示，現場發現了「頭被斬首」的嬰兒和幼兒。 美國有線電視新聞網 (CNN) 等報道了斬首和「伊斯蘭國式處決」的情況。 當記者向以色列軍方發言人詢問此事時，得到的答覆是：“我們無法證實，但你可以假設這件事發生了。”
但幾天之內，以色列外交部、武裝部隊和一些記者表示，沒有證據顯示斬首事件，白宮表示拜登引用了他所讀到的新聞報導。 到 10 月 12 日，似乎已經很清楚，沒有任何證據可以證實嬰兒被斬首的故事。 這是假新聞，是一位意識形態戰士為了在激烈的戰鬥中煽動緊張局勢而編造的。
但傷害已經造成，社群媒體上野火般的假新聞傳播影響了世界各地數百萬人 — — 主要是加劇了現有的意識形態或文化斷層和對抗。
Watching the watchdogs: Babies and truth die together in Israel-Palestine
The Israel-Palestine conflict is being fought not only between militaries and fighters on the ground, but also between media narratives on the air.
When US President Joe Biden publicly expressed his outrage at Hamas militants who invaded southern Israel and beheaded babies they had killed at Kfar Aza kibbutz last weekend, the public shock was both extensive and understandable. The gruesome news spanned the world’s media in hours.
But subsequent reports revealed that no such beheadings have been verified by any Israeli or international source – probably because they never happened. This was just one dramatic incident of false reports spreading in the public sphere via mass media to denigrate one’s foes and support one’s allies. Thousands of other false reports like this circulate daily in the media – though not necessarily so savage, or spread by such luminaries as the most powerful man on Earth, at the height of an intense conflict in Palestine and Israel that has polarised global opinion.
So, how should we assess the Biden and babies incident? What does it tell us about the dangers of media-disseminated false news and United States government attitudes to this conflict?
The beheaded babies tale originated with a report on Israel’s i24News site by reporter Nicole Zedeck, from her interview with Israeli reserve soldier David Ben Zion. Max Blumenthal and Alexander Rubinstein reported on October 11 that Ben Zion is a notorious radical leader in Israel’s West Bank settler movement. Among other things, he called on rampaging armed settlers earlier this year to wipe out the Palestinian village of Harawa, which settlers attacked and burned several times.
Media around the world quickly picked up the i24News report, and the Israeli Prime Minister’s spokesman said that babies and toddlers “with their heads decapitated” had been found at the site. CNN, among others, reported beheadings and “ISIS-style executions”. When journalists asked a spokesman for the Israeli military about the story, the reply was, “We cannot confirm but you can assume it happened.”
Within days, though, the Israeli foreign ministry and armed forces and some correspondents said there was no evidence for the beheadings, and the White House said that Biden was quoting press reports he’d read. It seemed clear by October 12 that no evidence existed to confirm the baby beheadings story. It was fake news, planted by an ideological warrior to stoke tensions in the heat of battle.
But the damage was done, and wildfire-like social media spreading of fake news had influenced millions of people around the world – mostly by intensifying existing ideological or cultural fault lines and confrontations.
https://www.aljazeera.com/opinions/2023/⋯d-truth-die-together-in-israel-palestine
Watching the watchdogs: Babies and truth die together in Israel-Palestine
https://www.aljazeera.com/opinions/2023/10/13/watching-the-watchdogs-babies-and-truth-die-together-in-israel-palestineThe conflict is being fought not only between militaries on the ground but also between media narratives.