Disgrace of crying wolf

Despite all of those in the media who were quick to call Jenin a "massacre," it took a UN research probe to determine that the Jenin "massacre" was a huge myth, a farce if you will, with no evidence to the contrary. Not even watching scenes of staged Palestinian casualties was enough to convince the media. \nFor those who are not familiar with the situation, news organizations across the globe reported last April on an alleged "massacre" in a Palestinian refugee camp at the hands of the Israeli army. While it is true that the Israeli army did occupy this west bank city, little that was initially reported about the incident had any truth to it.\nThe audience stood by and watched as actors fell off stretchers and ran to get back on the stretchers to be carried away from the so-called "massacre." The major media groups did not have an explanation of why the wounded were suddenly looking less wounded on the Palestinian side, nor could they explain the translations of Islamic Jidhadist interviews admitting there was no massacre. \nWhy was most of the world's mainstream media so quick to jump on the Jenin hype, with only hearsay and no hard evidence? Maybe it was because many journalists would love to taint Israel's often-heroic image in the American press historically. The Palestinians have never had a worthy image in the American press. \nPerhaps it was the Robert Kennedy assignation by Palestinian Surhan Surhan, or maybe it was the murders of Israeli athlete's at the Munich Olympics by the Palestinian terrorist organization Black September that caused a bad first impression of Palestinians in the eyes of most Americans. Israel and the United States close relationship is perhaps a source of jealousy for Palestinians.\nAs of late, Palestinians have received much more sympathy from Europeans, who mostly view the Palestinians as underdogs. The result being that European media takes on a much more pro-Palestinian slant than it's American counterpart. \nWhat is the real damage done by this whole Jenin mess? It is severe damage to the credibility of the media. What will the public with think when a massacre really does happen? Somewhere in this unpredictable world where information via the Internet spreads rapidly, the media needs to tame the rumor mill. Will the world become numb with doubt when it reacts to the next real genocide? Perhaps by then it could be too late for the victims of true genocide.\nDuring the late 1930's and early 1940's, some Americans doubted the existence of the Holocaust. Myths were created by the British about the German Soldiers massacring, and raping of Belgian and French civilians during the beginning of WWI. The British made this up as a form of emotional propaganda to entice the American public into entering the war. The Belgian and French Massacres turned out to be purely British propaganda after the War. Some Americans actually believed the British were using the Holocaust as an emotional tool as they did with their emotional appeals during World War One. Not until after WWII did most Americans realize how horrible the Holocaust was, and as a result, six million Jews died at the hands of the Nazis in a brutal genocide. As For the Palestinians -- I suggest that you let your leader's actions speak louder then your words. And to the international press -- the use of the terms 'genocide' or 'massacre' are not to be used lightly, because they are some of the strongest allegations that can be made against a government. The Jenin debacle was a combination of libel by Palestinian officials and the international press.