Newsgroup: it.politica
Titolo: How Hezbollah Fights the Media War

How Hezbollah Fights the Media War
Bloggers seek to make a correction
By Stephen Gregory
Opinion Editor Aug 12, 2006
The mainstream media has had a hard time lately in its coverage of the
Israel-Hezbollah war, as the unofficial media-the bloggers-have
been busy pointing out.
The sharp-eyed blogger Charles Johnson spotted how a Reuters photo
showing burning buildings had been photoshopped. The smoke rising from
a damaged building, and the building itself, were copied over the
photo-making the result of Israeli bombing look far worse than it
actually was.
Other bloggers noticed similar problems with photos by the same Reuters
stringer. In one example, the same unfortunate woman appears in two
different pictures mourning the loss of two different homes. Eventually
Reuters pulled some 900 photos and fired the photographer.
Then Michelle Malkin showed how the New York Times had published a
photo of a "dead" Lebanese, said to be a victim of Israeli
bombing-except the man was obviously not dead. The New York Times'
own photo essay showed the same young man scampering around the rubble
in a very lively way.
A New York Times correction claimed the original caption was in error.
According to the correction, the young man was said to be hurt and is
being helped up. If you would like a good belly laugh, then take a look
at Ms. Malkin's original post at
http://michellemalkin.com/archives/005687.htm
 with either of the New
York Times' captions in mind.
In fact, both the Reuters and the New York Times photographers were
willfully producing what amounts to propaganda for Hezbollah.
'Sophisticated and Slick'
Hezbollah has proven quite adept at using Western media. As CNN
reporter Nick Robertson explained on the TV show "Reliable Sources,"
Hezbollah has "very, very sophisticated and slick media operations."
In the same interview, Robertson explained how, when he reported on
events in southern Lebanon, Hezbollah had "control" of what he and his
crew were allowed to see and film.
Other journalists working in Lebanon have reported the same: In
Hezbollah areas, journalists are only allowed to see what Hezbollah
wants to show them. Hezbollah keeps copies of the journalists'
passports. Journalists who show any independence are threatened.
In order to gain "access," the media inside Lebanon run the risk of
offering reports so limited as to necessarily offer what Hezbollah
wants the world to see. In particular, Hezbollah wants journalists to
cover civilian deaths.
Qana
The incident at Qana was for this reason a Hezbollah propaganda
triumph. The story of a massacre of over 60 civilians, said to be
mostly women and children, conveyed by powerful images of a dead child
being brought out of the ruins, brought instant condemnation of Israel
from around the world.
Before Qana, most members of the Arab League had been silent about
Israel's attack on Hezbollah, hoping to see Israel take down this
Iranian-backed Shiite force. After Qana, Arab states loudly denounced
Israel, and momentum for a U.N. sponsored ceasefire eventually became
unstoppable.
What exactly happened at Qana is not clear. The initial casualty count
was reduced to 54, and then to 28. Doubts have been raised about many
peculiarities of this event.
Whatever happened at Qana, what is clear is how Hezbollah cynically
stage-managed removing bodies from the rubble. Charles Johnson
describes a scene captured by a German TV video: "They actually take
the body of a child out of the ambulance, transfer it from the light
stretcher used in the ambulance to the heavy duty gurney used in the
rescue operation (to create the impression that it has just arrived
from the bombed area), uncover it, and pose it for photographs."
Following a Script
The blog Newsbusters points out what Hezbollah does not want
journalists to cover-Hezbollah fighters. Western media are not
bringing back images of Hezbollah at war. Point a camera at Hezbollah
soldiers firing rockets, and a journalist is likely to get a death
threat.
As the blog points out, Hezbollah is fighting the victim's war. The
Hezbollah have built hospitals on top of their bunkers; set up rocket
launchers on top of or next to apartment buildings. They have made
civilian casualties unavoidable. When the civilians they have forced to
be their shields are killed, then the media are brought in to cover the
loss of life.
The script the media have used to cover this war has dovetailed neatly
with Hezbollah's propaganda strategy. The media's dominant coverage has
focused on civilian casualties. The unspoken question to which this
coverage provides the answer is: How long before Israel will stop
killing civilians and accept a cease-fire?
Of course, the only possible answer to this question is the sooner the
better.
But the media's script is not obvious. One could easily imagine reports
meant to answer a different question: Will Israel gain the conditions
necessary to its peace and security?
One might hope the mainstream media will learn something from the
bloggers' recent corrections and begin asking a different set of
questions. 
http://www.theepochtimes.com/news/6-8-12/44894.html

loss of life.
[snip]
Bravo Minoxidil, questa è la dimostrazione che avevo ragione di
sostenere che quelli che avevano bisogno di civili morti erano gli
hezbollah! Li hanno usati per la loro guerra mediatica, e quanta gente
c'è cascata!!!
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