It has long been that “journalism is the first draft of history”.
However, the billionaire-owned establishment media’s “first draft” contains not just accidental mistakes, but gaslighting and lies. The coverage of the racist violence of Israeli soccer fans in Amsterdam is a glaring example.
Dressed up by corporate media as “antisemitic violence” and “pogroms” against Jews, the establishment accounts turned reality on its head — as eyewitnesses testified.
Australia’s national broadcaster, the ABC, failed its audience badly, as it has since October 7 last year. Its November 9 included the misleading headline: “Israeli soccer fans recount violent attacks in Amsterdam as city boosts police powers and bans protests after assaults”.
After devoting 17 paragraphs to Israeli soccer fans describing their fears, it quotes a figure of authority — Amsterdam Mayor Femke Halsema — affirming that they were the victims of “anti-Semitic hit-and-run squads”. (She has since .)
Only at paragraph 24 does the ABC mention that “a Palestinian flag was taken down and burned” — but it does not name who was responsible.
The article eventually offers a couple of lines of context: “Clips circulating on social media showed Maccabi fans chanting anti-Arab slogans while pulling down a Palestinian flag and singing a song with abusive lyrics about Arabs,” but it is buried in an article otherwise devoted to perpetuating a dishonest narrative.
The Sydney Morning Herald similarly “antisemitic squads” in its headline and framing of its main report on the incident. It describes the Maccabi Tel Aviv supporters as victims and says “antisemitic incidents have surged in the Netherlands” since October last year.
Only in paragraph 13 do Enas Alashray and Bart H Meijer briefly reference a video showing “Maccabi fans setting off flares and chanting ‘Ole, ole, let the IDF [Israeli “Defence” Force] win; we will fuck the Arabs’”.
It was their only reference to provocations by the Israeli supporters.
The actions of Sky News in Britain show that this framing is a deliberate attempt to deceive, rather than being an honest mistake in a “first draft”.
Sky News reported in its that social media videos “show Maccabi Tel Aviv fans tearing down Palestinian flags outside of homes”; that “crowds of Maccabi Tel Aviv fans were filmed singing racist, anti-Arab songs” before the game; and that “during the match, Israel supporters appeared to disrupt the minute’s silence for Valencia flood victims with chants, whistles and fireworks”.
This all happened before the violent clashes described by politicians and establishment journalists as “antisemitic” violence and pogroms.
But Sky News, normally a conservative outlet, had reported that “Maccabi fans were seen attacking locals” and that the “Israeli far right ultras are notorious for their racism and physical violence”.
Sky did report Dutch, Israeli and British politicians’ claims of antisemitism, but also said — accurately — that “their statements failed to mention the assaults by Israeli hooligans against Dutch citizens”.
However, this account was quickly replaced with a new version, including adding in the claim of antisemitism up front and interviews with Maccabi fans. They removed references to Maccabi fans’ violence, implying it was violence against them.
Social media journalist complained about the misuse of her footage by CNN, the New York Times and others. “People framed my work … and that’s terrible because they told the opposite of what happened,” she . She denied that the events she witnessed were a “pogrom”.
This episode is just one recent example of the establishment media’s . It has done the same in other genocides, by either what was happening.
The establishment media plays an important propaganda role for the ruling class, by helping suppress the truth and any resistance voices. It is the reason we produce 91̳.
GL is a people-powered media project; we side with the oppressed. We want it to be a contribution to the “first draft” of understanding context, the balance of forces and next steps. Become a supporter and help us keep reporting the truth from the frontlines. You can also donate to our 2024 Fighting Fund.