IRIS Exposes Reporters Stealing Others' Errors

Journalists repeatedly act like students cheating on an exam, where the same error propagates around the room because of "group-think." Here are some that eluded fact checkers multiple times:

Set 1:

1. "Egypt, a political trendsetter that accounts for more than half the Arab population" (Oct. 19 Washington Post)

2. "Egypt represents more than half the population of the Arab world" (Nov. 13 New York Times)

3. "Egypt, which accounts for more than half the Arab world's population" (Nov. 13 Washington Post)

The truth is that Egypt represents about a quarter of the population of the Arab World's 22 countries. Anyone familiar with the Middle East, certainly a reporter who spent 12 years in the area, should have noticed these errors immediately. It's analagous to claiming half of Americans live in California. I e-mailed the Times on Nov. 13 and a correction was printed today.

Set 2:

1. "The concrete wall through Jerusalem carves out Arab enclaves in the city" (Oct. 18 Guardian)

2. "But the Israeli security barrier - a large concrete wall through most of Jerusalem - just makes her angry." (Oct. 30 New York Times)

This error is debunked in a must-read here, that goes far beyond simple errors to intransigence over renouncing anti-Israel propaganda.

Set 3:

1. "the violence in France has not taken on religious overtones" (Nov. 8 New York Times)

2. "Islamic ideology and leaders play no role in the disturbances, and many of those participating are not Muslim." (Nov. 8 Washington Post)

This claim is fisked in a must-read here.

Set 4:

1. The Gaza plan funding could be the biggest U.S. aid package to Israel since 1992, when Washington paid $3 billion to make up for damage sustained from Iraqi missile salvoes in the Gulf war. (July 11 Reuters)

2. The resettlement aid, if this is approved, would be the largest supplemental assistance to Israel since 1992, when Congress approved $3 billion to pay for damage from errant missiles during the first Gulf War. (July 11 CNN Lou Dobbs Tonight)

3. It would be the largest single aid request from Israel since 1992, when the United States provided some $3 billion to compensate Israel for damage caused by Saddam Hussein's missiles during the 1991 Persian Gulf War. (July 12 Washington Times)

The correct figure was $650 million, as this excellent CAMERA post demonstrates.

(Hat tips: Richard Baehr and Moshe B.)