Why It Is Important To Check The Accuracy Of News Sources

This is not a perfect blog. Over the years I have been fooled a few times by stories that were not accurately reported by my sources, but generally I have checked the source before I reported anything. However, political bias is very subtle and can be difficult to spot. There are also many forms of political bias. Recently NPR posted a map that convinces me that they are either totally ignorant of geography or supporting an agenda I totally disagree with.

An article at Breitbart.com today reports the following:

National Public Radio (NPR) published a map that erases the existence of Israel and replaces it with “Palestine,” a watchdog group reported.

The map, which has since been removed by NPR, accompanied a feature on health titled, “What Are You Afraid Of In 2016? Globetrotters Share Their Fears.”

In November, media monitoring site HonestReporting pointed out that CNN Money also published a map of the Middle East that did not include Israel in an article titled, “Beyond ISIS: 2016’s scariest geopolitical hot spots.”

“It is completely unacceptable for NPR to publish an image that erases Israel from the map. That nobody at NPR recognized just how problematic this image is on multiple levels speaks volumes about the deficiencies in the editorial process,” HonestReporting’s Managing Editor Simon Plosker said.

“NPR should do the right thing and either restore Israel to its legitimate place or come clean and acknowledge that the map, in the context of the article, is meant to signify a fear of the Muslim world. Given this choice, NPR should consider removing the image in its entirety,” he added.

This is the map:

NPR map erases Israel

There are other mistakes in the map, but to omit Israel is simply inexcusable. It is interesting to note that in the grand scheme of things, Israel is probably the safest place for Americans in the Middle East.