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Oops?

Where were Newsweek’s fact-checkers on this story?

Newsweek magazine said on Sunday it erred in a May 9 report that U.S. interrogators desecrated the Koran at Guantanamo Bay, and apologized to the victims of deadly Muslim protests sparked by the article.

Editor Mark Whitaker said the magazine inaccurately reported that U.S. military investigators had confirmed that personnel at the detention facility in Cuba had flushed the Muslim holy book down the toilet.

The report sparked angry and violent protests across the Muslim world from Afghanistan, where 16 were killed and more than 100 injured, to Pakistan to Indonesia to Gaza. In the past week it was condemned in Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Bangladesh, Malaysia and by the Arab League.

On Sunday, Afghan Muslim clerics threatened to call for a holy war against the United States.

But… I thought the media was all controlled by an international Zionist conspiracy. Why would the Arab world trust it in the first place?

{ 7 comments… add one }
  • John Palubiski 05.16.05, 3:45 PM

    The piece now appears to have no basis in fact. That’s despicable, but then sloppy journalism is more and more the norm.

    The real lesson to be gleaned, though, comes from the deadly reaction of some people to a story that was never true.

    Afganistan can’t even grow enough food to feed itself. So instead of calling for a *holy war*, why don’t the clerics do something useful and call for an agricultural “offensive”?

    Perhaps I’m wrong. Maybe opium has more nutrition than we realise.

  • DaninVan 05.16.05, 5:35 PM

    Maybe the WhiteHouse should consider pulling Newsweek’s press passes for a month for two. Whoever made the decision to run with that story needs to be held accountable; the results were ABSOLUTELY predictable. Even if it were in part true, the danger of adding fuel to worldwide Islamic unrest far far outweighs ANY possible good that could have come from publishing the story…other than increased sales at the magazine rack, eh?

  • josh 05.16.05, 9:30 PM

    journalism is dead. Even past journalists like Rather are shown to be corrupt.

    The media is now definitely run by a bunch of ignorant and immature news reporters and news readers with personal liberal agendas to push.

    There must have been so much glee and excitement for the liberals at Newsweek to publish the story to bash America. I’m so glad they apologized.

  • DaninVan 05.16.05, 11:22 PM

    Apologized, Josh? Where did you see an apology? All I’ve seen is a bunch of sniveling paper-clip-pushers trying to paint their way OUT of a corner…

  • DaninVan 05.16.05, 11:23 PM

    “Perhaps I’m wrong. Maybe opium has more nutrition than we realise.”

    …heh, JohnP, you’re never wrong.

  • John Palubiski 05.17.05, 2:48 PM

    Doesn’t even matter if Newsweek offers profuse apologies……AND free Korans. Checked out some mainstream Islamist websites this morening, and they’re all still convinceed it *REALLY* happened.

    I still insist that the true story here is one of misplaced indignation and general madness on the part of a large subsection of the Islamic world.

    They riot because of a rumoured desecration. Sixteen Muslims are killed…..and not a word of condemnation. Just think about the perverted and inverse morality at work here.

    Let’s see; stealing $5 is punishable by death, but stealing $5 million is a boyhood prank.

    DaninVan; what’s happening with Damian’s comments section? What will it take to get it back up and running?

    A slap across the face with a cold wet cod?

    I’ll supply the fish!

  • DaninVan 05.18.05, 4:56 AM

    JohnP; he put up a msg. about being hit by spammers…hugely. Maybe he’s given up cod for Spam? Spam and potatoes, mmmm…

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