ABC News faces fury for labeling 'slain' Hamas hostages as merely 'deceased'



ABC News faced a fierce wave of backlash for its reporting on Hamas' announced plan to release additional hostages in two phases later this week.

The terrorist group claimed it will release the bodies of four hostages on Thursday and six living hostages on Saturday.

'Civilian hostages, little children, murdered by the evil, brutal scum of Hamas.'

According to Hamas, the two youngest people kidnapped by the group, Kfir and Ariel Bibas, are no longer alive; their bodies are among the four to be returned this week. Kfir was just 9 months old and Ariel was 4 when they were abducted along with their parents, Shiri and Yarden Bibas, in October 2023. Shiri reportedly is also dead. Yarden was released last month.

ABC News published an article on the update, writing in a post on X, "Hamas will release the bodies of four deceased hostages on Thursday and six living hostages on Saturday, Hamas and Israel confirmed. Four more dead hostages will be released next week, according to Israel."

Social media users lambasted ABC News in the comments for softening its language regarding Hamas by outright omitting any mention that the group is suspected of murdering the "deceased hostages."

"Deceased, yes. Why are they 'deceased,' exactly?" one user wrote. "Any chance you left out the detail that they were murdered? Seems at least a little relevant."

"The people who are paid to use precise words to record every event are suddenly at a loss to find the right word to describe Hamas murdering hostages," another individual stated. "'Deceased' was a deliberate and very poor choice by ABC."

Senator Mike Lee (R-Utah) blasted the news outlet for referring to the young children as "deceased" and "dead."

"Do you mean 'murdered,' @ABC?" he asked. "Civilian hostages, little children, murdered by the evil, brutal scum of Hamas."

The Israeli prime minister's office appeared to confirm that the civilian hostages were murdered, referring to them as "four slain hostages," CNN reported.

The office noted that "four additional slain hostages are expected to be handed over to Israel next week."

Hamas has previously claimed that the Bibas family was killed in a November 2023 Israeli airstrike. However, the terrorist group did not provide evidence, and the Israeli military has not confirmed the claims.

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The exact moment Jake Tapper realized he might be Trump’s next defamation target



Earlier this week, President-elect Donald Trump won the defamation lawsuit he brought against ABC News and its anchor George Stephanopoulos, who made inaccurate statements on air about verdicts in E. Jean Carroll’s civil lawsuits against Trump.

The network has agreed to pay $15 million to Donald Trump’s presidential library, as well as $1 million of Trump’s legal fees. It also issued a public apology.

Other outlets that made similar slanderous statements about Trump are now biting their nails, anxiously anticipating which network he might come for next.

One of those outlets is CNN.

“Jake Tapper over on CNN is very concerned that this won't be the end of Trump going after the media,” says Dave Rubin, playing a clip of Tapper, who used to work at ABC, wearing his concern like a brightly colored garment.

“This weekend, ABC News agreed to pay $16 million, including legal fees, to settle a defamation lawsuit brought by Trump against the network and their anchor George Stephanopoulos,” said Tapper.

“That obviously will not be the end of this ... legal campaign against the media,” he added, calling it “wildly ridiculous.”

“By having a settlement with ABC, one that many people did not think was going to come to fruition ... has empowered and emboldened Donald Trump,” added CNN contributor Kristen Holmes.

“Tapper obviously is concerned because he has been at CNN one of the chief liars about Trump,” says Dave. “He's looking over there, looking at his former employer, ABC News ... and going, ‘Oh, s***.”’

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The post Analysis: George Stephanopoulos Now Responsible for Contributing 200 Times More to Trump Library Than He Ever Did to Clinton Foundation appeared first on .

MSNBC talking head was giddy over Fox defamation settlement — but now ABC's fate has her singing a different tune



MSNBC host Symone Sanders-Townsend spoke out Sunday about the resolution of President-elect Donald Trump's defamation lawsuit against ABC and its news anchor George Stephanopoulos, suggesting that the result might have "a real chilling effect."

Although apparently worried about the impact of legal penalties for imprecise speech now that a price has been exacted from a fellow traveler, Sanders-Townsend sang a different tune when Fox News agreed to pay Dominion Voting Systems $787.5 million over suggestions that its machines were used to rig the 2020 election.

Background

President-elect Donald Trump sued ABC and George Stephanopoulos earlier this year concerning a March 10 interview wherein the ABC News host falsely stated that the Republican had been found liable by multiple juries for the rape of E. Jean Carroll, referring to the verdicts in Carroll's sexual battery and defamation lawsuits. The complaint accused Stephanopoulos of acting "with actual malice or with a reckless disregard for the truth."

The ABC News host said in conversation with Rep. Nancy Mace (R-N.C.), "You endorsed Donald Trump for president. Judges and two separate juries have found him liable for rape and for defaming the victim of that rape"; "Donald Trump has been found liable for rape by a jury"; "I'm asking you a question about why you endorsed someone who's been found liable for rape"; "it was a civil court that found him liable for rape"; and "why are you supporting someone who's been found liable for rape?"

'I think the lesson here going forward is the truth does matter.'

Although insistent, Stephanopoulos was dead wrong. Jurors in neither case found Trump liable for rape.

According to documents filed in a U.S. District Court on Saturday, ABC settled the action, agreeing to pay $15 million toward Trump's yet-to-be established presidential library as well as to pay Trump's attorneys $1 million in legal fees.

ABC News also appended the following editor's note at the bottom of the article that corresponded with the offending interview: "ABC News and George Stephanopoulos regret statements regarding President Donald J. Trump made during an interview by George Stephanopoulos with Rep. Nancy Mace on ABC's This Week on March 10, 2024."

A spokesman for the network told CBS News in a statement, "We are pleased that the parties have reached an agreement to dismiss the lawsuit on the terms in the court filing."

While ABC News was apparently pleased with the result, Sanders-Townsend — the leftist talking head who previously took umbrage with the use of the word "raid" when used in reference to the FBI raid on Mar-a-Lago — suggested that Stephanopoulos was in the right and the result was troubling.

Selective concern

When Fox News agreed to pay $787.5 million in April 2023 to settle its defamation lawsuit with Dominion, Sanders-Townsend — who worked on the Biden-Harris transition team in 2020, then as a spokeswoman for the Biden White House — adopted a jubilant tone.

After mocking the statement that the right-of-center network released, suggesting that Fox News' mention of journalistic integrity made her "eyes [get] very big," Sanders-Townsend said, "I think that going forward, every entity that enter the media apparatus — politicians, campaigns — they now have to decide how they are going to engage with Fox News going forward."

Noting the expensive nature of the settlement, Sanders-Townsend suggested, "Someone at Fox is going to have to answer for this. I highly doubt, though, it will end up being talent."

"I think the lesson here going forward is the truth does matter," said Sanders-Townsend. "It is very important to speak plainly, to speak with facts, and when someone is lying to call it a lie and to show your work as to why that is."

When it came time for ABC News to pay the price for falsehoods on the air, Sanders-Townsend took a different approach.

Responding to a guest's suggestion that the press has an obligation to be "straightforward and objective when it comes to Donald Trump," Sanders-Townsend said on MSNBC's "The Weekend" Sunday, "I would just say, I mean, this feels like it has a real chilling effect."

"Like, I mean, shout out to the standards department. Standards is always making sure that we are keeping the bar high and substantive and accurate," continued Sanders-Townsend. "But what George Stephanopoulos said in that interview — I mean, it seems to hold up with what the judge said after the fact. And now his news organization and himself, George Stephanopoulos himself, is paying $1 million of his own money to the lawyers and ABC is $15 million. It's insane."

Sanders-Townsend was not the only liberal talking head to take a markedly different approach to the two settlements.

CNN's Brian Stelter appeared giddy when reporting on the Fox settlement last year, telling Yahoo Finance, "Almost $800 million dollars for these lies that were spread on television. This is going to be a landmark moment for accountability when it comes to the big lie."

Stelter was devoid of that enthusiasm following the ABC News settlement, agreeing with CNN talking head Jim Acosta that "there's just going to be a chilling effect on the news industry."

"The answer is yes. Media lawyers are worried about this. They're preparing for it," said Stelter. "They are preparing their newsrooms for it with the expectation of more lawsuits, more leak investigations, more subpoenas in the months and years to come."

"You know, there will be some attempt to troll as a result of this," continued Stelter. "We are in a climate where more of this kind of litigation is expected."

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[rebelmouse-proxy-image https://thefederalist.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/Screenshot-2024-12-15-at-7.42.34 AM-1200x675.png crop_info="%7B%22image%22%3A%20%22https%3A//thefederalist.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/Screenshot-2024-12-15-at-7.42.34%5Cu202fAM-1200x675.png%22%7D" expand=1]Dem Party hack George Stephanopoulos' repeated false statements about the president-elect proved costly for the corporate media outlet.

'People like Mr. Rogan prey on people's vulnerabilities': Australian broadcasting exec goes on unhinged rant about Joe Rogan



An Australian broadcasting executive said comedian Joe Rogan preys on the population with malevolent intent.

Kim Williams, a former media executive who is now the chair of the state-run Australian Broadcasting Corporation, spoke at the Australian National Press Club this week about the growing threat of "misinformation" and "disinformation."

'I personally find it deeply repulsive.'

Williams consistently made references to floods and tsunamis regarding an alleged increase in "false information," stating that the government broadcaster needs to do a better job of providing "lifeboats" to citizens, especially young ones.

When the executive was asked why he believes Rogan is so successful at capturing a large market share, he began spreading his own claims about the comedian.

"I have a question about Joe Rogan," an audience member began. "He's obviously the world's most popular podcast host. He has three billion listeners. ... I'm just wondering if you had any observations about what's behind the Joe Rogan effect, how you believe he's managed to so successfully capture this huge market."

Williams first responded in jest, saying that he wasn't sure whether he was the right person to ask given that he is not a "consumer or enthusiast" of Rogan's work. However, the government employee then immediately launched attacks at the American.

"I think people like Mr. Rogan prey on people's vulnerabilities. They prey on fear. They prey on anxiety. They prey on on all of the the elements that contribute to uncertainty in society," Williams claimed.

In a video clip of the statement on X, the 71-year-old claimed Rogan spreads "fantasy outcomes and conspiracy outcomes" as if they are a "normal part of social narrative."

"I personally find it deeply repulsive," Williams continued. "And, to think that someone has such remarkable power in in the United States is is something that I look at in disbelief."

The Australian added that he was "in dismay" that people find Rogan entertaining given that he is "treating the public as plunder" and is "quite malevolent."

Rogan shared the video with a simple, "LOL WUT," response.

'As the poisoned waters of the Tsunami rise, it's good to get the young especially into lifeboats.'

This was only the tip of the iceberg in terms of Williams' remarks at the event.

Williams also claimed the predominant sources of "false information" in the world are: Vladimir Putin-funded bot-farms, Andrew Tate's "poisonous" videos, and artificial intelligence.

Therefore, he decried, the ABC "will require extra investment."

As the poisoned waters of the Tsunami rise, it's good to get the young especially into lifeboats — they are particularly vulnerable to the flood. Their minds are precious assets, needed for our future success. But lifeboats are always flimsy protections against surging tides. And one day our young will have to swim for themselves in the poisoned seas. So they and everyone else will need to be better prepared.

Williams then called for an increase in government-backed "fact-checking," children's programs, and curriculum.

He concluded his speech by saying the ABC needs to attract younger audiences as a matter of "intergenerational equity" and also "train a new generation of young journalists."

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