CNN Reports on Protests Against Israel

Weekly Example of Media Bias   —   Posted on January 7, 2009

CNN has a roundup of protests against Israel’s self-defense: “In London, England, dozens of protesters gathered outside the Israeli Embassy.” A Berlin demo[nstration] drew 2,000…bigger than London’s, but still tiny by historical German standards. Elsewhere:

Protesters also have taken to the streets in Denmark, France, Italy and Spain, according to news reports. There also were reports of demonstrations in Caracas, Venezuela.

Iranian media reported that thousands took part in anti-Israel demonstrations in Tehran on Monday, which the government declared a day of mourning for the Palestinians in Gaza. . . .

In the Muslim world, demonstrations also were held in Jordan, Egypt, Pakistan, Indonesia, Libya and Bahrain, the BBC and other news outlets reported.

The U.S. Census Bureau estimates the world’s population at around 6.75 billion. By our back-of-the-envelope calculation, the protesters in CNN’s report accounts for roughly one-millionth of that number, and about half of them are in countries ruled by autocracies that use anti-Semitism as a tool to preserve their power.

Yet the network headlines the story “World Rallies Around Palestinians Amid Gaza Offensive.” This is an enormous exaggeration. Or maybe it is a small world after all.

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