On 29 October 2008, Arab Media Watch chairman Sharif Hikmat Nashashibi wrote to the Daily Mail, the Sun and the Independent regarding claims made against Syria that were reported as fact.
Letter to the Mail:
Dear Sir / Madam,
An article in your newspaper says Israeli jets "struck at a Syrian nuclear site" last year (Nine die as US strikes in Syria - 27 October 2008). This is mistakenly written as fact. Israel's claim of bombing a nuclear reactor has never been proved. This is why the target is frequently described elsewhere in the British media as a "suspected" or "supposed" nuclear site. It is imperative that claims not get confused for facts.
Furthermore, the article refers to Syria being believed (by whom is not revealed) "to have continued with its nuclear programme by...scattering its nuclear development programme around several sites in order to make it difficult to thwart with a single strike." This outlandish claim is not only devoid of any evidence, but totally absent elsewhere in the British media.
Yours sincerely,
Sharif Hikmat Nashashibi
Chairman
Arab Media Watch
Letter to the Sun:
Dear Sir / Madam,
Richard White reports as fact that the US raid into Syria killed a "major smuggler of foreign fighters into Iraq" (US kills boss - 28 October 2008). To readers, this would seem to justify the raid. However, the rest of the British media reported the killing of Abu Ghadiyah for what it is so far: a US claim, one that has yet to be corroborated by evidence. It is imperative that the claims and counter-claims that currently abound not get confused for facts.
Yours sincerely,
Sharif Hikmat Nashashibi
Chairman
Arab Media Watch
Letter to the Independent:
Dear Sir / Madam,
In an otherwise commendable article, your correspondent Patrick Cockburn reports as fact that the US raid into Syria "killed an al-Qa'ida commander who dispatched fighters into Iraq" (Iraq condemns US raid on Syrian village - 29 October 2008). However, most of the British media reported the killing of Abu Ghadiyah for what it is so far: a US claim, one that has yet to be corroborated by evidence. It is imperative that the claims and counter-claims that currently abound not get confused for facts.
Yours sincerely,
Sharif Hikmat Nashashibi
Chairman
Arab Media Watch