This is pretty amazing. If you go to the link for the #FloodLibel story that AFP spread around on Al Jazeera you will see the following:
ARTICLE RETRACTED
25 Feb 2015 15:12 GMT | Human Rights, Humanitarian crises
Article retracted, 25/2/2015.
Editor’s note: An earlier version of this page hosted an article which stated that Israel had, without warning, opened a number of dams, which had resulted in a part of Gaza being flooded.
This was false.
In southern Israel, there are no dams of the type which can be opened.
We apologise for this error.
Al Jazeera depends on objective reporting and strives to correct all errors of fact. We are committed to accountability and transparency.
We encourage our audience and others to identify and report our mistakes.
Juan Cole has also withdrawn it from Informed Comment.
Which pretty much says it all. They fell for a completely manufactured fake story and, as I said in my post, this was a deliberate and successful attempt to deceive the world. Just look at the number of photographs (from two different agencies) and including drone ariel shots in the Daily Mail article. That was planned and deliberate. They knew what they were doing.
As of now the following publications are still running the story in some form. Al Jazeera is putting them to shame.
The Daily Mail in the UK: Hundreds of Palestinians left homeless by heavy flooding after water levels in Gaza Valley rise by up to 10 feet
Russia Today RT: Palestine accuses Israel of opening dams, flooding Gaza, forcing evacuations
Press TV: Israel opens dams’ gates, floods Gaza
Thanks to Seth Frantzman of the Jerusalem Post for the list on Facebook and who added this comment:
I give them a lot of credit, because as someone who works in media, I know how easy it is to just alter a story online, (the Daily Mail did that) or to just delete the link as if it never existed.
But good journalism should be about owning up to mistakes and teaching other journalists how to be mature and honest. That’s how everyone learns from mistakes. Not just altering the grades…
