AP/Reuters Watch 6/23

A Flares feature which takes the Associated Press declaration in its

STATEMENT OF NEWS VALUES AND PRINCIPLES:

"we abhor inaccuracies, carelessness, bias or distortions"

to heart and offers a helping hand by pointing out egregious examples of abhorrent practice as they occur.

Day after day after day.

Examples found by readers and posted in comments will be placed in the main post with credit.

All Flares contributors are invited to edit and/or update AP/Reuters Watch posts.

NOTE: Stories at AP and Reuters are updated throughout the day. Some of their updates may obviate criticism made here.
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AP hews the party line very closely in this report concerning the chemical shells found in Iraq, the location of which Saddam was required to disclose pursuant to various UN resolutions. No allegations were ever made that Saddam had resumed mass production of WMD after 1991. His failure to disclose the location of existing stocks was the reason that Hans Blix spent so much time in Iraq.

As to the lethality of the shells found, I would suggest that those certain that they have degraded to the point of non-lethality be given the chance to demonstrate their faith in their assertions by disarming a few of those shells without wearing protective breathing gear. A demonstration in front of a live (to begin with, anyway) audience of journalists and pols who spout this propaganda would be very convincing.
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Gateway Pundit highlights AP's ability to push anti-American propaganda on the flimsiest of pretexts. The photo isn't worth a thousand words - except to note that AP's photographers know how to frame a shot as well as anyone who ever worked for Pravda [h/t Clarice]
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AP contiues in the standard anti-American vein with this headline: story by Alexander G. Higgins which contains the curious phrase

Louise Arbour, in a speech to the new U.N. Human Rights Council, was clearly referring to repeated allegations of U.S. abuses.

Now if Ms. Arbour was "clearly referring to" why aren't the words she used in quotes? One might infer that Higgins considers Ms. Arbour to be too gutless (not unusual in a UN breaucrat, to be sure) to say what she means. Let's be charitable though and suppose that Ms. Arbour is referring to Chinese, Vietnamese or Cuban "abuses" - Higgin's explanation would then become petty propaganda, which it assuredly is. The same petty propaganda which leads Higgins to leave out any explanation that Ms. Arbour's phrasing of "the reported existence of secret detention centers where suspects are held incommunicado is ... of grave concern." refers to news reports concocted without reference to any official reports - because there are no official reports except those that state that no "secret prisons" have been found.

AP - All Propaganda - all the time.

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Devlin Barrett carries a little more water for Miz Clinton.

"I think we come out more united," said (Hillary) Clinton. "We're not blindly united like the other side is, where they are like the three monkeys, See No Evil, Hear No Evil, Speak no Evil. They're not going to say anything negative about the president, the vice president, the secretary of defense or anybody else.”

A Republican could never get away with saying something this idiotic. The AP reporter would have made sure to provide evidence contradicting such an erroneous assertion.
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UPDATE: In comments, Knuck points to this story which establishes the "serious" nature of the UN rights group. Perhaps it's a variation of the "set a thief to catch a thief" strategy? Of course, catching thieves at the UN can be done by waiting in front of any elevator and arresting the first person to get off.
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