At
Reuters, ‘Not Refuting’ Is the Same as ‘Seeing’
By Jim Naureckas
“Top US General in
Afghanistan Sees Russia Sending Weapons to
Taliban” was
Reuters’ headline over a
April 25 story.
Well,
that sounds like news! Tell me more,
Reuters’
Idrees Ali:
The
head of US and international forces in
Afghanistan said on Monday he was “not
refuting” reports that Russia was providing
support, including weapons, to the Taliban….
Asked about reports that Russia was
providing a range of help, including
weapons, to the Taliban, who control large
areas of Afghanistan, [Gen. John] Nicholson
replied: “Oh no, I am not refuting that.”
|
No
Advertising - No Government Grants - This Is
Independent Media
|
“I am
not refuting that”? How does that translate into
“General…Sees Russia Sending Weapons to
Taliban”? If NASA tells
Reuters
that they can’t refute speculation that there
might be life on Mars, will
Reuters
run a story headlined “NASA Sees Life on Mars”?
That would be a scoop!
Ali
writes that Nicholson’s no-comment comments “are
among the strongest suggestions yet that Moscow
is providing arms to the Taliban.” Maybe next
time Reuters
could wait for a somewhat stronger
suggestion—involving actual evidence,
perhaps—before running a story that could
inflame the new Cold War.
Jim Naureckas is
the editor of
FAIR.org.
You can find him on
Twitter
at
@JNaureckas.
Messages to
Reuters
may be sent through
this website
(or via Twitter:
@Reuters).
Please remember that respectful communication is
the most effective.
The
views expressed in this article are solely those
of the author and do not necessarily reflect the
opinions of Information Clearing House.
