Fake news from ancient Greece to present-day Israel
By PAM PELED, DANIT SHEMESH, TZIPPI SHA-KED‘JOURNALISM HAS a unique position to bridge the disparate sectors of society.’(photo credit: TNS)
Fake news?Dear Latte Ladies,I’ve been thinking lately about the role and responsibility the media play in dividing or uniting a nation. It certainly seems a factor in American politics. How is this hot-button topic viewed in Israel, and what is your opinion on the subject?Uncertain who to trust,Scarsdale, New YorkPam Peled:Some 2,000 years ago, Greek writer and thinker Plutarch described a case of excoriating the news in Parallel Lives.The first messenger, who gave notice of Lucullus’s coming, was so far from pleasing Tigranes that he had his head cut off for his pains, and no man dared to bring further information. Without any intelligence at all, Tigranes sat while war was already blazing around him, giving ear only to those who flattered him.Crazy, huh? Shades of Trump. And others.I am a journalist. Like any thinking person on God’s earth, I don’t always agree with what I read in the papers. News reporters have a duty to be fair, give all the facts, and present honest articles; many don’t.Yet we can’t dismiss all the media, if they don’t disseminate our agenda. The media are a watchdog, provoking informed thought. Should the editor of this paper never criticize government policy or print facts about the unsustainability of a system in which too many able-bodied men don’t work?Once, when the three of us Ladies dared to do a book-signing in a haredi household, someone quoted figures from The Jerusalem Post. Only partly in jest, a bunch of women sniggered at her: “What, you read the paper?” (Wink, wink).When I quote figures about poverty in the haredi sector, or how haredi hoodlums who don’t want to defend the Holy Land block roads, Danit laughingly suggests I don’t read the paper. That way I won’t worry. And anyway, she claims, the news is all biased.That’s one way to live. It’s just not my way.Danit Shemesh:If journalism positions itself as a democratic watchdog, informing the public and provoking thought, wouldn’t we presume that journalists are objective and unbiased? Is that what happens, Pam?Take the road blockers. Pam calls haredi road blockers “hooligans,” while not mentioning the handicapped or social workers who protest in the same way. Are they “heroes”? Obviously prejudiced opinions precede facts – a decidedly undemocratic approach.How many people attended Rabbi Ovadia Yosef’s funeral? Arik Sharon’s? It depends on which newspaper you read.What is poverty and who defines it? The “poor” themselves or the government? Could it be a life choice to live modestly, and not poverty at all? If it doesn’t fit Pam’s social mores, the choice becomes unacceptable to the “watchdog” and labeled “unsustainable.”Statistically, what is the level of patronage by the haredim in the markets of food, cars and apartments? This correlates to the birthrate. And yes, haredim pay taxes, a fact twisted by journalism.How do most haredim feel about spitting or road blocking? We call it hilul Hashem, desecration. Do most journalists know that, or mention it?Whose head is being chopped off? The victimized “messenger”? Really?!Even in this communication Pam misrepresented me, perverted and twisted the actuality. The reason I don’t read the papers is that I believe that what is written in the secular media is prejudiced against us.Words can hurt, kill, distort, commit social assassination and create a mob mentality.Journalism has a unique position to bridge the disparate sectors of society. As long as ratings override accuracy, I won’t read the paper and allow others, who create fear and hatred simply for sensationalism, to shape my experience.Tzippi Sha-ked:Recent fake news headlines about violent haredim on an El Al flight, pernicious and heartless words by Haaretz journalist Gideon Levy demonizing religious “settlers,” and an op-ed calling haredim the “Jewish Hezbollah” have done little to foster ties or influence other communities. Instead, they incite, demean and add to the growing rift.Pam argues that journalists are reporting facts, and berates us to stop hiding our heads in the sand, Ladies.Ah, come on Pam! You know newspapers are agenda-driven, fueled by business and political interests. Any honest curiosity about “the other” often takes a backseat to shaming either haredim or secular. Yes, media bias extends both ways.There’s nothing new in acknowledging that the media have a detrimental effect on secular-religious tensions.So now what?Responsible journalism must begin with responsibility to the larger society and not merely to the targeted narrow readership. Papers are preaching to their subscribers alone.Fair-minded journalism should include a larger number of haredi journalists on the staff of secular publications, while religious newspapers ought to employ some secular writers.The papers should become a common meeting point of representation, ideas, and positive curiosity across the religious divide. Agenda-driven news must make room for the most important agenda at hand – fostering Israeli civil discourse.Pam, you’re right: “an important role of the media is to be a watchdog and to provoke informed thought.” But when the watchdog goes for the kill, isn’t it time to look for a good muzzle? ■Comments and questions: 3ladies3lattes@gmail.comwww.facebook.com/3ladies3lattes
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