Newspaper notes success of article which made false allegations against Christians
-31/03/
Newspaper notes success of article which made false allegations against Christians
-31/03/06
Senior staff on a national newspaper in the UK have today noted the success of an article it published this week which made false allegations against a group of Christians.
Staff at the Daily Telegraph flagged up the success of a news story about the release of Christian Peacemaker hostages in Iraq, which alleged that Christian peacemakers had not thanked soldiers involved in their release.
In their blog entry today, the editor of telegraph.co.uk, Shane Richmond, news editor, and Ian Douglas, production editor, report that the top story from the last week for the paper was the news item entitled “Released hostages ‘refuse to help their rescuers” by Oliver Poole.
However the article contained an accusation against Christian Peacemakers that was completely untrue, and has yet to be corrected by the paper.
Referring to Christian Peacemaker Teams (CPT) the article stated; “Neither the men nor the Canadian group that sent them to Iraq have thanked the people who saved them in any of their public statements.”
It later repeated the false allegation; “Although the CPTs has welcomed the men’s release, it has not thanked the rescuers in any of its statements.”
The article was filed on 25th March.
However, the Canadian Group in question actually issued a special “thank you” statement on the evening of 23rd March, two days before which stated clearly; “We are grateful to the soldiers who risked their lives to free Jim, Norman and Harmeet.”
The reporting by the Daily Telegraph and other newspapers such as the Times contributed to these false allegations being repeated around the world.
Similar allegations were also made by General Sir Michael Jackson, head of the British army, who declared on Channel 4 news in the UK: ìI am slightly saddened that there doesnít seem to have been a note of gratitude for the soldiers who risked their lives to save those lives.î
However, after being challenged by Ekklesia the Ministry of Defence (MOD) later admitted that “information about the thanks had not filtered through to the MOD when General [Sir Michael] Jackson made his statement.î
The Daily Telegraph however has yet to issue a correction or issue a public apology.
The Daily Telegraph blog entry can be found here
You can read the original telegraph news story here
You can read the CPT “thank you” statement issued two days before here
Newspaper notes success of article which made false allegations against Christians
-31/03/06
Senior staff on a national newspaper in the UK have today noted the success of an article it published this week which made false allegations against a group of Christians.
Staff at the Daily Telegraph flagged up the success of a news story about the release of Christian Peacemaker hostages in Iraq, which alleged that Christian peacemakers had not thanked soldiers involved in their release.
In their blog entry today, the editor of telegraph.co.uk, Shane Richmond, news editor, and Ian Douglas, production editor, report that the top story from the last week for the paper was the news item entitled “Released hostages ‘refuse to help their rescuers” by Oliver Poole.
However the article contained an accusation against Christian Peacemakers that was completely untrue, and has yet to be corrected by the paper.
Referring to Christian Peacemaker Teams (CPT) the article stated; “Neither the men nor the Canadian group that sent them to Iraq have thanked the people who saved them in any of their public statements.”
It later repeated the false allegation; “Although the CPTs has welcomed the men’s release, it has not thanked the rescuers in any of its statements.”
The article was filed on 25th March.
However, the Canadian Group in question actually issued a special “thank you” statement on the evening of 23rd March, two days before which stated clearly; “We are grateful to the soldiers who risked their lives to free Jim, Norman and Harmeet.”
The reporting by the Daily Telegraph and other newspapers such as the Times contributed to these false allegations being repeated around the world.
Similar allegations were also made by General Sir Michael Jackson, head of the British army, who declared on Channel 4 news in the UK: ìI am slightly saddened that there doesnít seem to have been a note of gratitude for the soldiers who risked their lives to save those lives.î
However, after being challenged by Ekklesia the Ministry of Defence (MOD) later admitted that “information about the thanks had not filtered through to the MOD when General [Sir Michael] Jackson made his statement.î
The Daily Telegraph however has yet to issue a correction or issue a public apology.
The Daily Telegraph blog entry can be found here
You can read the original telegraph news story here
You can read the CPT “thank you” statement issued two days before here