HonestReporting (also Honest Reporting or honestreporting.com) is a non-governmental organization that monitors the media for what it perceives as bias against Israel.[1] The organization has affiliates in the United States, UK, Canada, Italy, and Brazil. Critics of the organization claim that it uses coercive tactics to silence critics of Israeli government policy.
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HonestReporting (HR), was founded by British university students in 2000, during Yom Kippur, at the onset of the Second Intifada, which led to the death of hundreds of Israelis and thousands of Palestinians. HonestReporting's self-declared mission is to expose what its members consider bias against Israel in the western media.
In 2003, HonestReporting Canada (HRC) was founded as an "independent, non-profit organization" headquartered in Toronto, Canada .
In February 2006, HonestReporting was granted "independent Charitable Organization status in Israel to complement its US and Canadian status."
In March 2006, HonestReporting UK was launched by two expatriate Britons, Managing Director Joe Hyams, and Senior Editor Simon Plosker . HonestReporting UK is seeking to achieve UK Registered Charity Status.
HR's self-declared mission statement claims that,
Israel is in the midst of a battle for public opinion – waged primarily via the media. To ensure Israel is represented fairly and accurately "'HonestReporting'" monitors the media, exposes cases of bias, promotes balance, and effects change through education and action
HR claims that since 2000, it has "prompted hundreds of apologies, retractions, and revisions from news outlets" and their efforts are "changing the face of the media and reporting of Israel throughout the world." HR defines itself "as an organization dedicated to defending Israel against prejudice in the Media" they "aim to provide educational tools and resources to anyone wishing to advocate for Israel".[2]
Honest Reporting, in addition to media watch activities, produced a documentary discussing the Arab-Israeli conflict in association with The Clarion Fund (which is headed by Ephraim Shore's twin brother Raphael Shore.[3]) This film was entitled Relentless: The Struggle for Peace in the Middle East. The same team produced a film titled Obsession: Radical Islam's War Against the West. Honest Reporting's subsequent videos include What Really Happened?, which deals with the al-Durrah affair.
HonestReporting is accused by its critics of making inaccurate, distorted and often deceptive claims. In an article published by the British paper The Independent, author Robert Fisk has claimed that some purported HonestReporting readers have engaged in hate-mail against writers whose point of view they dislike, based on erroneous and false information.[4] HonestReporting has in turn published stories critical of Fisk on their website.[5][5][5] HonestReporting, when exposing media bias, simply asks their readers to "Send your considered comments to <name of media outlet> – remembering to include your address and phone number if you want it to be published."[6]
Writer George Beres, writing for the Freedom From Religion Foundation, criticized HonestReporting for engaging in "Israeli propaganda".[7]
The American Journalism Review criticized HonestReporting:
"Frequently, these so-called media monitors, who say they are only interested in fairness and balance, will seize on a word or a phrase and leave out the context. Take the case of a Philadelphia Inquirer editorial that called both PLO leader Yassir Arafat and Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon 'pigheaded and destructive.' In a communiqué urging readers to complain to the Inquirer, HonestReporting.com omitted the reference to Arafat to make the editorial sound like a one-sided attack on Sharon."[8]
HonestReporting Canada (HRC) is the Canadian branch of the organization. It monitors Canadian media coverage of Israel and the Middle East to promote what it calls "balanced, accurate, and unbiased reporting" about Israel.[9]
HonestReporting Canada (HRC) was established in 2003 as an independent, non-profit group headquartered in Toronto, Canada. Since then, HRC has opened an office in Montreal in April 2008,[10] giving them official national and bilingual status. HRC plans to further expand across the country to other large Canadian cities and extend their operations to include regular monitoring of college and university campus papers.[11]
The executive director of HonestReporting Canada is Mike Fegelman and Assistant Director is Paul Agoston. Prominent Canadian Conservative Member of Parliament and Cabinet Minister Peter Kent has served on the board of Honest Reporting Canada. [12]
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