From the Liveblog of
Thursday, June 29, 2023
Public diplomacy minister feuds with foreign media over ‘fake news’ charges
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Public Diplomacy Minister Galit Distel Atbaryan feuds with the Foreign Press Association, after her newly created ministry put out an English-language video on social media warning people not to trust foreign reporting about Israel.
“Fight the fake: A quick guide in reading the news about Israel” cited several leading international news agencies, newspapers and networks, accusing them of bias against Israel.
The Foreign Press Association accuses Distel Atbaryan of “launching an unprovoked attack on the foreign media.”
The association says it sent a letter to the ministry and other officials “expressing our objections to this language, the false impressions it could cause and our concerns that it could even promote violence against journalists.“
The Government Press Office said in response that the video exposed examples of bias, but that the office nevertheless rejects blanket condemnation of the foreign press, the association says.
Atbaryan says on Twitter, “The video won’t be taken down, and my war for the truth has only just begun.”
“Israel is a democratic nation that maintains freedom of expression and opinion, but as public diplomacy minister I won’t allow biased coverage in our backyard without a response,” she says.
אז למה התדמית של ישראל כלכך שלילית בעולם המערבי?
הנה אחת הסיבות המרכזיות לכך:
בישראל פועל קומץ מצומצם של כתבים מסוכנויות זרות.
הקומץ הזה (שמונה קצת למעלה מ 100 איש) מפרנס את כל גופי התקשורת בעולם.
הוא מכתיב את הידיעות על ישראל ומשפיע על דעת הקהל של מאות מליוני צופים באירופה… pic.twitter.com/VxbEk6n7nt— Galit Distel Atbaryan – גלית דיסטל אטבריאן (@GalitDistel) June 29, 2023
The Times of Israel Community.