Miami, June 3, 2024– The Committee to Protect Journalists urges Haiti’s Superior Council of the Judiciary, the country’s judiciary oversight body, to provide judge Jean Michelet Séide with the necessary resources and protections to conclude his investigation into the October 2022 murder of radio journalist Garry Tesse.
Last month, the council appointed Séide to take over the case from judge Robert Jourdain, who requested to be removed due to threats he received. Séide has requested protection from the council due to the sensitivity of several cases he is handling, including the Tesse murder, according to local news site Van Béf Info.
Despite the appointment of a new judge, the case remains in the hands of local prosecutor Ronald Richemond, who is accused by a key witness of involvement in the murder.
Under Haitian law the judge has exclusive control over the investigation, including collecting evidence and summoning witnesses to testify. But it’s the prosecutor who handles the trial phase.
Several weeks before Tesse was found dead in the southern city of Les Cayes, the journalist had gone on his show on Radio Le Bon FM to accuse Richemond, a political appointee, of plotting to have him killed.
“Haiti’s Superior Council of the Judiciary must guarantee that judge Jean Michelet Séide can investigate the circumstances around Tesse’s murder without fear for his own safety,” said CPJ U.S., Canada, and Caribbean program coordinator Katherine Jacobsen in Washington, D.C. “A transparent and fair investigation into Tesse’s killing would be an important step in ending impunity in this and other cases, and help bolster the rule of law in Haiti at a critical time.”
Jacobsen added that CPJ “welcomes the appointment of a new Prime Minister, Garry Conille, and encourages him to review the handling of the case by the Ministry of Justice.”
Richemond has not responded to CPJ’s repeated requests for comment in relation to the case. The prosecutor issued a video statement on Facebook three days after Tesse’s body was found in which he rejected the accusations of his involvement in the killing.
The killing of the 39-year-old journalist sparked outrage and street protests. But the investigation into his death has languished, leading his family and friends to accuse the local government of a cover-up. His brother, Vano Tesse, told CPJ that the family is waiting to meet with the new judge and is hopeful that Richemond will be replaced. “We believe that justice will prevail,” he said.
Haiti has slid into virtual lawlessness and gang rule following the assassination of the country’s president Jovenel Moïse in 2021. The case exemplifies a long-running problem in Haiti’s justice system, which has a low conviction rate as investigations are impeded by a toxic mix of corruption, political influence, cumbersome bureaucracy and fear of reprisals against the judiciary. At least six Haitian journalists have been murdered in direct reprisal for their work since Moïse’s assassination. CPJ has also documented half a dozen kidnappings of journalists in recent months.
Haiti was ranked as the world’s third-worst nation in CPJ’s 2023 Global Impunity Index, which ranks the countries where killers of journalists are most likely to go unpunished.
As voters in the United Kingdom prepare to head to the polls on July 4 for what is widely expected to be a Labour Party landslide, we speak with a prominent candidate who was dropped by the party as part of a purge of left-wing members. Faiza Shaheen was told by Labour leadership that she is no longer the party’s candidate in her London constituency after liking pro-Palestine posts on social media, including a tweet about the difficulties of speaking about Israel-Palestine, which also included a well-known video of comedian Jon Stewart making the same point. Shaheen, a Black economist identified with the left wing of the party, is the latest woman of color to face sanction by the Labour Party now led by centrist Keir Starmer. “Whereas before the Labour Party did have a broad church of voices, they have been systematically blocking and taking out anyone that they consider to be on the left,” says Shaheen, who adds that the party has also ignored the racist and Islamophobic abuse she has received, while protecting many white candidates accused of misconduct. “It’s not just about me or my community or how angry we are here. It’s about the kind of government we’re going to have for the next four or five years.”
This content originally appeared on Democracy Now! and was authored by Democracy Now!.
U.S. President Joe Biden on Friday outlined what he described as an Israeli ceasefire proposal to end the war in Gaza, nearly eight months after Israel began its invasion in response to the October 7 attack by Hamas. Biden described three phases to release captives held by both sides, allow residents to return to the north of the Gaza Strip and begin reconstruction of the devastated territory after the full withdrawal of Israeli troops. Hamas said it looked positively on the proposal and previously accepted similar terms, but Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has yet to agree to it publicly amid pressure from far-right members of his governing coalition to continue the war indefinitely. Former Israeli peace negotiator Daniel Levy says Biden may have employed “constructive ambiguity” about Israel’s position in order to bring the two sides closer to a deal, but that the most important goal is to end the “horrors” in Gaza with a permanent ceasefire. “What are the maximal guarantees that can be given that this is not just a 42-day hiatus followed by yet further death, killing, destruction that we still now see every day?” asks Levy, who is now president of the U.S./Middle East Project.
This content originally appeared on Democracy Now! and was authored by Democracy Now!.
Recognised for their services to the Pacific community in the King’s Birthday Honours . . . Reverend Taimoanaifakaofo Kaio (from top left, clockwise:, Frances Mary Latu Oakes (JP), Maituteau Karora, Anapela Polataivao, Dr David Telfer Robie, Leitualaalemalietoa Lynn Lolokini Pavihi, Tupuna Mataki Kaiaruna, Mailigi Hetutū and Bridget Piu Kauraka. Montage: PMN News
Dr David Robie talks to Ma’a Brian Sagala of PMN News in 2021. Video: PMN/Café Pacific
Robie’s comments follow the rioting and looting in New Caledonia’s capital Nouméa on May 13 that followed protesters against France President Emmanuel Macron’s plan for electoral reform.
At least seven people have died and hundreds injured with damage estimated in the millions of dollars.
“The tragic thing is that we’ve gone back in time,” he told PMN News.
“Things were progressing really well towards independence and then it’s all gone haywire.
“But back in the 1980s, it was a very terrible time. At the end of the 1980s with the accords [Matignon and Nouméa accords], there was so much hope for the Kanak people.”
Robie, who has travelled to Noumēa multiple times, has long advocated for liberation for Kanaky/New Caledonia and was even arrested at gunpoint by French police in January 1987.
He reflected on his work throughout the Pacific, which includes his involvement in the Rainbow Warrior bombing — the subject of his book Eyes of Fire; covering the Sandline crisis with student journalists in Papua New Guinea; and helping his students report the George Speight-led coup of 2000 in Fiji.
Dr David Robie talks to Ma’a Brian Sagala of PMN News in August 2018. Video: PMN/PMC
“Because I was a freelance journalist, I could actually go and travel to many countries and spend a lot of time there.”
“I guess that’s been my commitment really, helping to tell stories at a grassroots level and also trying to empower other journalists.”
He headed the journalism programmes at the University of Papua New Guinea and University of the South Pacific for 10 years, and also founded the Pacific Media Centre at AUT University.
What Robie calls “an incredible surprise”, he says the award also serves as recognition for those who have worked alongside him.
“Right now, we need journalists more than ever. We’re living in a world of absolute chaos of disinformation,” he said.
Robie said trust in the media had declined due to there being “too much opinionated and personality” journalism.
“We’re moving more towards niche journalism, if I might say, mainstream journalism is losing its way and Pacific media actually fit into the niche journalism mode,” he said.
“So I think there will be a growing support and need for Pacific journalism whereas mainstream media’s got a lot more of a battle on its hands.”
Republished from PMN News with permission.
This content originally appeared on Asia Pacific Report and was authored by Pacific Media Watch.
Cook Islands News, the national newspaper for the Cook Islands, is one of many Pacific news media agencies expecting change in the face of New Zealand’s Newshub closure next month.
The organisation has content-sharing agreements with traditional NZ media organisations including Stuff, New Zealand Herald, RNZ and TVNZ, and is dependent on them for some news relevant to their readers.
Cook Islands News editor Rashneel Kumar said that Newshub, New Zealand’s second major television news and website which CIN did not have an agreement with, was still an excellent source of extra context or additional angles for the paper’s international pages, and its absence would be felt.
Cook Islands News editor Rashneel Kumar . . . “Newshub has been a really good alternative in terms of robust and independent journalism.” Image: APR screenshot FB
“You can understand the decisions that were taken by the owners but at the same time it is really sad for journalism in general,” Kumar said.
“What it does is provide fewer options for quality journalism.
“Media like Newshub has been a really good alternative in terms of robust and independent journalism.”
Cook Islands News is in the process of signing a new share agreement with Pacific Media News (PMN), which is hiring a former Newshub reporter of Cook Islands descent.
“This will boost our coverage because the experience he brings from Newshub will be translated into a platform that we have access to stories with,” Kumar said.
‘One positive effect’
“So that is one positive effect of the closures.
“We see the changing landscape, and we must adapt to the changes we are seeing.”
Pacific Island countries consist of small and micro media systems due to the relatively small size of their populations and economies, resulting in limited advertising revenue and marginal returns on investment.
Associate professor in Pacific journalism and head of journalism at the University of the South Pacific Dr Shailendra Singh said what was happening in New Zealand could also happen in the Pacific.
“This advertising-based model is outdated in the digital media environment, and Pacific media companies, like their counterparts worldwide, need to change and innovate to survive,” he said.
CEO of Cook Islands Television Jeanne Matenga said that the only formal relationship they had with overseas agencies was with Pasifika TV, but that Newshub’s closure meant they would no longer get any of their programmes.
“As long as we can get one of the news programmes, then that should suffice for us in terms of New Zealand and international news,” she said.
All major Pacific Island media organisations are already active on social media platforms, and are still determining how to harness, leverage, and monetise their social media followings.
Newshub is due to close on July 5.
Republished from the Te Waha Nui student journalist website at Auckland University of Technology. TWN used to be a contributing publication to Asia Pacific Report.
This content originally appeared on Asia Pacific Report and was authored by Pacific Media Watch.
Ralph welcomes professor M. Steven Fish, political scientist and author of “Comeback: Routing Trumpism, Reclaiming the Nation, and Restoring Democracy’s Edge” who argues that winning elections is about more than policy positions, it’s about projecting strength and dominance. And Donald Trump plays that game better than his Democratic rivals. Plus, former Navy Petty Officer, Phil Tourney, who was aboard the USS Liberty when it was attacked and nearly sunk by Israeli fighter planes and torpedo boats during the Six Day War in 1967, tells us why 57 years later, he still fights for accountability.
M. Steven Fish is a comparative political scientist at the University of California, Berkeley who specializes in democracy and authoritarianism, religion and politics, and constitutional systems and national legislatures. He writes and comments extensively on international affairs and the rising challenges to democracy in the United States and around the world, and he has published commentary in the Washington Post, the New York Times, and Foreign Policy, among other publications. His latest book is Comeback: Routing Trumpism, Reclaiming the Nation, and Restoring Democracy’s Edge.
Dominance can be used for good or for ill. The Republicans have used it to advance injustice and corruption. And the Democrats need to—as they did in the 20th century, very often—use it in favor of justice.
M. Steven Fish
What’s holding them back? PAC money? Corruption of campaigns? Lack of character? Fear of skeletons in their own closet? What’s holding them back if it’s so obvious?Ralph Nader, on why Democrats aren’t more dominant
The Republican Party historically has been the party of “no”, once the Civil War was over. When they were formed in 1854, they were the party of “no” against slavery. But after that, they’re the party of “no” against labor unions, “no” against progressive taxation, “no” against Medicare, “no” against Social Security, “no” against environmental health regulation, “no” against consumer protection, “no” against raising the minimum wage, “no”, “no”, “no”. And the Democrats— in those examples at least—were “yes”, “yes”, “yes”, and they never bragged about it.
Ralph Nader
Phil Tourney served aboard the USS Liberty as a US Navy Petty Officer on June 8th 1967, when the Liberty was attacked by Israeli planes and torpedo boats. He is President of The USS Liberty Veterans Association, which was established to provide support for survivors of the attack. The efforts of the LVA are also focused on ensuring the US government finally conducts the public investigation of the attack on the USS Liberty.
I can’t explain the carnage that went on, but that ship— all of us came together. All the spies, all the ship’s company we all came together…we saved that ship, to tell the truth—and we were ordered by Admiral Isaac Kidd never to say anything about it. He boarded our ship and told us to shut up or we’d end up in prison, fined, or worse— we all knew worse meant death. That’s what they told us. To shut up. They took away our First Amendment rights and Congress has not done a darn thing in 57 years. The line is, “It was a case of mistaken identity, that’s where they left it.
Phil Tourney, President of the USS Liberty Veterans Association
In Case You Haven’t Heard with Francesco DeSantis
News 5/28/24
1. In Rafah, at least 35 people were killed Sunday night when Israel bombed a “tent camp housing displaced Palestinians in a designated safe zone,” per Al Jazeera. AP reports that at first, Israel’s military claimed it had “carried out a precise airstrike on a Hamas compound,” and only after photographic and video evidence of the horror inflicted on civilians emerged did Prime Minister Netanyahu reverse this position and claim the strike was a “tragic mishap.” Israel’s assault on Rafah continues despite the U.N. International Court of Justice ordering Israel to “immediately halt its military offensive” in the South Gaza city, per the BBC.
2. The Guardian is out with a disturbing report alleging “The former head of the Mossad, Israel’s foreign intelligence agency…threatened a chief prosecutor of the international criminal court in a series of secret meetings in which he tried to pressure her into abandoning a war crimes investigation.” This expose details how Yossi Cohen, the former Israeli spy chief, threatened ICC prosecutor Fatou Bensouda, reportedly telling her “You should help us and let us take care of you. You don’t want to be getting into things that could compromise your security or that of your family.” The paper also hinted at further forthcoming revelations, noting that they are working with +972 Magazine and the Hebrew-language outlet Local Call to expose “how multiple Israel intelligence agencies ran a covert ‘war’ against the ICC for almost a decade.” This piece notes that “According to legal experts…efforts by the Mossad to threaten or put pressure on Bensouda could amount to offences against the administration of justice under article 70 of the Rome statute.”
3. Investigative journalist Ken Klippenstein reports through his newsletter that “The Biden administration has publicly admitted that it is working with tech companies to…suppress pro-Palestinian and anti-Israel sentiment,” under the guise of “limit[ing] Hamas’s use of online platforms.” As Klippenstein explains, “Platforms like Instagram, TikTok and Facebook have long banned terrorist organizations like Hamas. Now, however, the federal government is pressuring companies to ban ‘Hamas-linked’ accounts and those of pro-Palestinian Americans.” Human Rights Watch raised the alarm about censorship of pro-Palestine content in a report from December 2023, which detailed “Meta’s…‘systemic…censorship’ of speech regarding the…war.”
4. Over Memorial Day weekend, activists assembled in Detroit for the People’s Conference for Palestine. In a surprise address, Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib spoke to the crowd, decrying the genocide in Gaza and asking “Where’s your red line, President Biden?” the Detroit News reports. Tlaib went on to call Biden an “enabler,” who “shields the murderous war criminal Netanyahu.” Over 100,000 Michigan residents voted “uncommitted,” in the state’s Democratic primary.
5. Celebrated actor Guy Pearce was recently photographed by the French subsidiary of Vanity Fair during the Cannes film festival. When he posed for the photo, Pearce wore a Palestinian flag pin; yet when the photo was published, the pin had been photoshopped out entirely. The Middle East Eye, which covered this story, reached out to Vanity Fair asking for a comment on why they edited the image, but did not receive a response. Vanity Fair restored the original photo and apologized, claiming it was a mistake, but many are not buying it. As one social media commenter put it, “This is a reminder that the media… will do anything and everything to hide any form of solidarity.”
6. The American Prospect’s David Dayen reports “[The American Prospect] has learned that during [Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco’s recent trip to California to participate in the 2024 RSA Cybersecurity Conference]…[she] had an off-the-record, no-readout briefing with several tech executives.” As Dayen notes, this meeting comes “at a time when the DOJ is suing both Google and Apple,” and as Monaco has spoken of making corporate criminal enforcement a higher priority at Justice. As there is no official record of this meeting it is impossible to know what was discussed, but the cloak-and-dagger nature of this rendezvous raises serious questions about DOJ’s commitment to pursuing the lawsuits against the tech giants. We demand the Deputy Attorney General disclose the content of this meeting at once.
7. The Reform Party, originally founded by Ross Perot, has announced that it “has nominated Robert F. Kennedy Jr.…for President of the United States.” The most significant effect of this nomination, as the party notes, is that it “will hand [Kennedy] our automatic ballot access in the State of Florida as well as our advantages as a qualified party.” According to Kennedy’s campaign website, he is now eligible to be on the ballot in states totaling 229 electoral votes, though Axios has a lower tally. Kennedy now faces a race against the clock to qualify for the upcoming presidential debates, though even if he does qualify his participation is not guaranteed as both the Biden and Trump campaigns have agreed to sidestep the Commission on Presidential Debates.
8. In more Third Party news, the Libertarian Party has chosen Chase Oliver as their 2024 presidential nominee, per POLITICO. Oliver gained national attention for his 2022 campaign for Senate in Georgia, with some claiming his candidacy forced the race to a runoff, ultimately resulting in the reelection of Democrat Raphael Warnock. During that race, Oliver describes himself as “armed and gay.” Both former President Donald Trump and Robert F. Kennedy Jr. vied for the Libertarian Party nomination. Trump himself addressed the convention in person but was roundly booed. He was ultimately deemed ineligible, while Kennedy received only 19 votes. However, Larry Sharpe, a longtime Libertarian Party member and unsuccessful vice presidential candidate expressed alarm about Kennedy’s potential impact on the party. Sharpe said “We’re gonna lose ballot access in probably 22 states. We’re not gonna make more than half a percent…RFK sucks the money out of the room and he gets the ‘I’m mad at the system votes’ that we used to get because we’re the only other guy on the ballot.”
9. The Teamsters union is turning their presidential endorsement over to their members. Since May 19th, Teamsters locals have been holding polls to determine which candidate the national union will endorse. This is a marked departure from the traditional endorsement structure, which is typically decided in a top-down fashion by the national union leadership. However, this process could result in a Teamsters endorsement of Donald Trump – a real possibility based on the union’s recent flirtation with Trump and the GOP more generally. We urge the union not to endorse Trump, who has an abominable track record on labor issues, clearly documented by the AFL-CIO and the Communications Workers of America.
10. Finally, Bloomberg Labor reporter Josh Eidelson reports the United Autoworkers union is petitioning the National Labor Relations Board, to “discard the results of last week’s Mercedes election in Alabama, [and] asking the agency to hold a new vote due to alleged misconduct by the company.” CBS 42 reports this alleged misconduct includes “poll[ing] workers about union support, suggest[ing] voting in the union would be futile, target[ing] union supporters with drug tests and [per UAW] “engag[ing] in conduct which deliberately sought to exacerbate racial feelings by irrelevant and inflammatory appeals to racial prejudice.’” In addition to these complaints, Mercedes is reportedly under investigation by the German government for anti-union activity during this campaign. In a statement, the UAW wrote “All these workers ever wanted was a fair shot at having a voice on the job and a say in their working conditions…Let’s get a vote at Mercedes…where the company isn’t allowed to fire people, isn’t allowed to intimidate people, and isn’t allowed to break the law and their own corporate code, and let the workers decide.”
This has been Francesco DeSantis, with In Case You Haven’t Heard.
“If SP or Congress come to power, they will send Ram Lalla back to the tent and will run a bulldozer on the temple. Is this what you want to learn from Yogi ji? Take tuitions from Yogi ji where to use the bulldozer and where not to.”
In an election rally at Barabanki, Uttar Pradesh, held on May 17, PM Modi indicated the Congress-SP alliance, if voted to power, would send Ram Lalla to the tents and run a bulldozer over the Ram Temple in Ayodhya. In a snide reference to what has come to be known as ‘bulldozer justice’, Modi asked the Opposition to learn from Yogi Adityanath where to use the bulldozer and where not.
#WATCH | In his address to a public meeting in Uttar Pradesh’s Barabanki, PM Narendra Modi says, “…If SP and Congress come to power, Ram Lalla will be in a tent again and they will run a bulldozer on Ram temple. They should take tuition from Yogi ji, where to run a bulldozer… pic.twitter.com/rfhqN0XiXc
‘Bulldozer Justice’ has become a model of retributive violence popularized by Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath in which bulldozers are deployed by the authorities to raze down the house of an accused before a case or a dispute reaches a judicial closure. According to an Amnesty International report, “The authorities in Gujarat, Delhi, Madhya Pradesh, and Uttar Pradesh claimed that the demolition of Muslim properties was based on violations of land regulations, such as not securing the required permissions from the local municipalities, or operating businesses on government land, and other regulatory infractions. However, there are widespread similar breaches of land regulations by Hindus as well, and the measures these authorities have taken have been directed largely at Muslims and not Hindus.”
Yogi, popularly hailed as Bulldozer Baba, has repeatedly targeted Muslims while campaigning for the ongoing elections. In one of his speeches, he prided himself on the fact that Muslims offering prayers had vanished from the streets of Uttar Pradesh. On April 21, Adityanath was given a unique guard of honour by a horde of bulldozers when he went to the Bilaspur district of Chhattisgarh for election campaigning.
#WATCH | Bilaspur, Chhattisgarh: BJP workers carried out a bulldozer rally before the arrival of Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath pic.twitter.com/U54JXOm4O5
This was repeated, with a louder emphasis on the spectacle of the bulldozers, on May 2, in the Mainpuri district of Uttar Pradesh, when CM Yogi led a roadshow which included bulldozers being queued up as part of the parade, from the top of which local BJP supporters and workers showered petals on the chief minister. The bulldozers were adorned with flowers and sported large posters of PM Modi and Yogi Adityanath.
Tracing the Journey of ‘bulldozer Justice’
Ever since the Modi-led BJP government came to power in 2014, bulldozers have been co-opted by the administrative machinery as an instrument of retributive justice. Over time, the idea of ‘bulldozer justice’ has been popularized the Right Wing ‘fringe elements’ in their speeches. By latching onto the public perception of bulldozers as a means of extra-judicial punishment against Muslims, this rhetoric has seeped into the mainstream political narrative, with eventually PM Modi himself exalting the practice during his speech in UP.
For instance, in October 2021, speaking at a congregation organised by Jay Ambe Seva Group in Gujarat’s Morbi district, Right Wing hardliner Kajal Shingala, popularly known as Kajal Hindustani, called for the demolition of local Islamic structures, which she decreed as illegal. Addressing the crowd, she had said, “I will make the strategy and lead it, all I need is your support. If it is illegal, then why do we need to adopt legal means to destroy it? I will get the bulldozer and I will pay for it. If people are standing with me, I will do it. Tell me when should we do this?” According to a report by The Quint, the local shrine in question came under the purview of the municipal corporation and was not illegal.
More recently, Yati Narsinghanand Saraswati urged the UP chief minister to demolish the Islamic seminary Darul Uloom Deoband with bulldozers over its fatwa about ‘Ghazwa-e-Hind’. “Send your bulldozers and raze Darul Uloom Deoband. Nothing would happen by demolishing properties of petty people,” he said in a video statement.
In another recent interview, he drew attention to the fact that what he had said at the Dharam sansad (religious parliaments) were now being repeated by the Prime Minister himself at public rallies. This, Saraswati said, proved that he was right.
The gun-wielding ‘Acharya’ Azad Singh Arya, who is revered as the chief of the Gau Raksha Dal in Haryana, has resorted to the ‘bulldozer’ rhetoric on several occasions. At one such gathering documented by Alt News, Acharya Azad urged the Haryana government to ‘use bulldozers on cow smugglers.’
Addressing Haryana chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar, he said, “I would like to request respected Khattar Saab: Please become Yogi for a day. Forget cow slaughter, no one would even dare to touch a hair on any cow. Bulldoze the cow slaughterers and those who cannot stand the protection of cows. But eight years have passed Khattar saab; I don’t understand when you will become Yogi.” (Translation) His speech was met with loud applause from the crowd. It is evident that ‘bulldoze’ here is used as an open call for violence against the Muslims.
Acharya Azad made a similar statement in the aftermath of the Nuh violence in August 2023. While speaking at a Hindu Mahapanchayat held at Pondri village of the Palwal district of Haryana, he exhorted Hindus to take up arms against Muslims. He also appealed to the authorities to ‘bulldoze’ the houses of Muslim people who were responsible for the communal clash.
In the wake of the clashes in Nuh, the country witnessed a barrage of hate speeches made at several rallies and Mahapanchayats across Northern India, where Hindutva ideologues made open calls for violence and economic boycotts. The ‘bulldozer’ rhetoric was a consistent ploy used in these speeches, to further disenfranchise Muslims. At a protest rally organised by several Hindutva groups at Mohan Nagar Chowk in Kurukshetra on August 2, 2023, Haryana, demonstrators were heard urging for ‘bulldozer action’ in retaliation to the communal clashes which had transpired in Nuh, Haryana. Some of the protestors can also be seen riding on bulldozers.
Yet another protest rally was organised by Hindu Right Wing outfits on August 2, 2023, in Prayagraj, in the presence of retired IPS officer KP Singh, a member of the VHP. Islamophobic chants could be heard in the background along with slogans of ‘Bulldozer Baba Zindabad’.
In a byte from the same rally, Vinod Aggarwal, a senior member of the VHP, claims that the perpetrators of the communal clash need to be identified and punished by bulldozers. He also says, “Their houses should be bulldozed similar to the way Yogi Baba uses the bulldozer to restore peace in UP”.
प्रयागराज विश्व हिन्दु परिषद, बजरंग दल और अन्य हिंदूवादी संगठन ने प्रयागराज मे हरियाणा के मेवात की घटना को लेकर जबरदस्त विरोध प्रदर्शन किया। सरकार से मांग की राष्ट्रीय एजेंसी NIA मेवात की घटना की छानबीन करे। जिसप्रकार से इंटीलिजेंस की खामियाँ आयी है यह दुर्भाग्य पूर्ण है । हिन्दु संगठनों ने सरकार मांग की है कि मृतक के परिवार को 1 करोड़ रुपये और घायन को 20 लाख रुपये दिये जाए और दोषियों पर सख्त से सख्त कार्यवाही की जाए ।
In Hindutva pop, the rhetoric of the bulldozer is a common trope. The songs implicitly celebrate the extra-judicial actions taken by ‘Bulldozer Baba’. Independent journalist Kunal Purohit, who works at the intersection of politics, social justice, and international relations, recently authored a book called ‘H-Pop: The Secretive World of Hindutva Pop Stars’. In his words, these songs “…when fused with psychedelic beats and hypnotic rhythms, combined with the headiness that being in a group brings, can turn processions into bloodthirsty mobs.” (Purohit Page 10).
Produced by small-time studio houses, these numbers take recourse to catchy beats, and lyrics that stoke nationalist pride and confirm ideological biases and stereotypes in order to normalise political extremism against minority populations.
We have covered a few examples which explicitly celebrate Yogi Adityanath’s ‘bulldozer model’, while calling for attacks against ‘deshdrohis’ (anti-nationals) and ‘dangayi’ (rioters), disseminating the bulldozer rhetoric.
BJP’s Azamgarh MP Dinesh Lal Yadav, popularly known as Nirahua, released a song called ‘Baba Ka Bulldozer’ which has garnered 5.1 million views. The English translation of the Bhojpuri lyrics from this song goes: “When the bulldozer acts, snakes and scorpions go into hiding in their holes”, alluding to the extra-judicial mechanism whereby bulldozers come across as objects of intimidation and fear to the minority communities.
A verified channel called Prabhakar Maurya Ayodhya with over 260000 subscribers, uploaded a music video dedicated to ‘Bulldozer Baba’. Slogans like ‘Dangayi sab knaap rahe hai, bulldozer baba chaap rahe hai’ (Tranlation: The rioters are scared, Bulldozer baba is mowing them) and “Rashtravirodhi pe hai bhaari, bulldozer baba bhagwadhari’ (Translation: He is hard on the anti-nationals, Bulldozer Baba is saffron-clad). The song currently has 4.1 million views on YouTube.
A singer by the name of Shrawan Sultanpuri has a staggering 2.5 million views on a song that glorifies Yogi Adityanath’s reign as the chief minister of Uttar Pradesh. The lyrics of this composition can be literally translated as – “Anti-nationals and traitors will be imprisoned, no one will last against Bulldozer wale Baba”. brandishing the symbolic meaning of the vehicle as something that refers to the unrivalled popularity of Yogi Adityanath’s ‘bulldozer politics.’ The channel has 35,000 subscribers.
By explicitly valorising the bulldozer as an entity that has the capacity to punish the archetypal ‘deshdrohi’ (anti-national), which is the Muslim stone-thrower, these songs operate to recalibrate the very way people perceive the bulldozer. It becomes a symbol that is both abstract and sentient at the same time; an entity whose raison d’etre lies in the protection of the motherland against its enemies.
BJP Leaders Calling for Bulldozer Justice
BJP leaders, too, have indulged in this communal rhetoric while making speeches. At a rally in the Shahdara Chowk area of New Delhi on August 3, 2023, BJP leader Jai Bhagwan Goyal urged all state governments to enforce ‘bulldozer action’ against the ‘Jihadis’, by emulating the Yogi government in UP.
T Raja Singh, the BJP MLA from the Goshamahal in Telangana, notorious for delivering incendiary speeches, has also reinforced this communal rhetoric several times in the past. The most recent documentation of his speech by Alt News shows that while speaking at the Hindu Jan Akrosh Morcha rally on January 6 in Solapur, Singh called for violence and exhorted Maharashtra chief minister Eknath Shinde to follow in the footsteps of Yogi Adityanath and implement ‘bulldozer politics’ in Maharashtra. He proclaims that those accused of ‘Land Jihad’, ‘Love Jihad’, and cow slaughter would have to face the bulldozer.
In February 2022, Raja Singh was embroiled in a controversy over a remark he had made in a video, where he was seen urging people to vote for Yogi Adityanath or face the wrath of bulldozers. He said, “Hindus should come and vote in large numbers. I want to tell those who did not vote for BJP that Yogi Adityanath has got thousands of JCBs and bulldozers which were procured by him to mow down people who did not support the BJP in the ongoing elections. Yogiji will take action against the identified traitors who did not support BJP during the assembly elections.” The Election Commission issued a show-cause notice to Raja Singh for his incendiary speech.
In March 2023, Alt News documented several speeches in Maharashtra by Singh. In Shrirampur, he lauded Maharashtra chief minister Eknath Shinde for demolishing Afzal Khan’s tomb. He said, “Shinde should also be known as bulldozer Eknath Shinde”, urging him to follow the pattern set by Adityanath.
On April 16, Bijoy Malakar, a BJP MLA from Assam’s Ratabari constituency, came under the spotlight for allegedly threatening the villagers from the Karimganj district to vote for the BJP or be prepared for eviction. Malakar made these comments while campaigning for BJP MP candidate Kripanath Mallah. In the short video which emerged from the rally, he can be heard saying “…if you do not vote this time, I know where you are from, and where you live. The election result is on the…4th, make sure the JCB doesn’t reach your home after that”.
Bijoy Malakar,BJP MLA Ratabari karimganj , Assam
Transcript of what he says in a election Really @ECISVEEP
“Clearly telling you all that If you all dont vote this time,I know who is from where(not Understandandble)result is on 6 th no no 4 th..make sure JCB dsnt reach your home! pic.twitter.com/vO6rJdVXdK
— Sahidul Islam laskar (@Sahidullaskar00) April 17, 2024
In the state of Assam, ever since BJP’s Himanta Biswa Sarma came to power as the chief minister in 2021, thousands of homes have been razed by bulldozers under the label of anti-encroachment drives. This has rendered a large number of Bengali-speaking Muslim families homeless. Similarly, Uttarakhand CM Pushkar Dhami has carried out several acts of ‘bulldozer justice,’ justifying his actions under the pretext of targeting ‘illegal encroachment.’
The Congress Manifesto addresses the trend of ‘bulldozer justice’. In the sixteenth point under the section titled ‘Defending the Constitution,’ the party has vowed to put an end to ‘…arbitrary and indiscriminate arrests, third-degree methods, prolonged custody, judicial deaths, and bulldozer justice.’
Thus, the ‘bulldozer’ rhetoric has travelled from the discourse of Right Wing fringe elements to the mainstream electoral politics, culminating in the controversial remarks made by the Prime Minister of the country at Barabanki, UP. This, one can say, conclusively settles the long-standing debate — whether for the Indian Right Wing, the fringe is the mainstream.
After working at the U.S. State Department for over 20 years, Stacy Gilbert quit the Biden administration this week after a report she contributed to concluded Israel was not obstructing humanitarian assistance to Gaza. Gilbert served as a senior civil military adviser in the State Department’s chief humanitarian office, which features heavily in internal policy discussions over Gaza. Despite “abundant evidence showing Israel is responsible for blocking aid,” the report concluded the opposite and was used by the Biden administration to justify continuing to send billions of dollars of weapons to Israel. Gilbert says she was “shocked” to find that the report concluded Israel was not not blocking humanitarian assistance: “That is not the view of subject matter experts at the State Department, at USAID, nor among the humanitarian community. And that was known. That was absolutely known to the administration for a very long time.” Gilbert says there is a clear pattern by Israel “of arbitrarily limiting, restricting or just outright blocking assistance going in that has caused the very grave situation in Gaza.”
This content originally appeared on Democracy Now! and was authored by Democracy Now!.
In a historic verdict, a New York jury found former President Donald Trump guilty on all 34 felony counts in his criminal hush money and election interference trial. Trump is now the first former president to be convicted of a felony and faces up to four years in prison. “All this is unprecedented in the history of American republicanism,” says U.S. historian Manisha Sinha. “A man like Trump could very much upend this over-200-year historical experiment in representative government.” Trump can still be president as a convicted felon and is poised to become the Republican nominee for the nation’s highest office in July. “One of the most dangerous things about Trump is that he’s not a one-man show,” says Sinha. “He’s the presumptive nominee of a political party in a two-party system. That in itself poses an immense danger to American democracy.”
This content originally appeared on Democracy Now! and was authored by Democracy Now!.
The New York Times (4/8/24) cited “experts” who called Nicaragua charging Germany with facilitating genocide “a cynical move by a totalitarian government to bolster its profile and distract attention from its own worsening record of repression.”
When Nicaragua accused Germany of aiding and abetting Israel’s genocide in Gaza at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) last month, readers of corporate media might have seriously wondered whether Nicaragua’s case had any legitimacy.
The case targeted Germany as the second biggest supplier of arms to Israel, because the US, Israel’s biggest supplier, does not accept the court’s jurisdiction on this issue. The object (as Nicaragua’s lawyer explained) was to create a precedent with wider application: that countries must take responsibility for the consequences of their arms sales to avoid them being used in breach of international law.
Many in corporate media took a more jaundiced view. The Financial Times (4/8/24) led by telling readers, “The authoritarian government of Nicaragua accused Germany of ‘facilitating genocide’ in Gaza at the opening of a politically charged case.” The second paragraph in a New York Times article (4/8/24) cited “experts” who saw it “as a cynical move by a totalitarian government to bolster its profile and distract attention from its own worsening record of repression.” The Guardian (4/9/24) qualified its comment piece by remarking that “Nicaragua is hardly a poster child when it comes to respect for human rights.”
Double standards are evident here. If the US government were to do what it has failed to do so far, and condemn Israel’s genocidal violence, Western corporate media would not remind readers of US crimes against humanity, such as the Abu Ghraib tortures, extraordinary renditions, or the hundreds imprisoned without trial at Guantánamo. It’s hard to imagine Washington would be accused of “hypocrisy” (Guardian, 4/9/24) for calling out Israel’s crimes. Any condemnation of Israel by the US or one of its Western allies would be taken at face value—in clear contrast to the media’s treatment of such action by an official enemy country like Nicaragua.
Germany ‘as its finest’
For El País (4/11/24), facilitating mass slaughter in Gaza is “Germany…at its finest,” because it it is “driven by its sense of responsibility stemming from a tragic history.”
Of establishment media, Spain’s El País (4/11/24) was perhaps the most vitriolic in its portrayal of Nicaragua. Its piece on the court case was headlined “The Worst Version of Nicaragua Against the Best Version of Germany.”
“The third international court case on the Gaza war pits a regime accused of crimes against humanity against a strong and legitimate democracy,” the piece explained. “It may be a noble cause, but its champion couldn’t be worse.”
The article, which relayed none of the evidence offered by either side, commented rather oddly that Germany was “at its finest” arguing the case, and that its “defense against Nicaragua’s charges is solid and its legitimacy as a democratic state is unassailable”—a comment presumably intended to contrast its legitimacy with “the Nicaraguan dictatorship.”
In addition to its article cited above, the New York Times (4/8/24) had a report more focused on the case itself. However, it was CNN (4/9/24) and Al Jazeera (4/8/24) that stood out as covering the case on its own merits rather than being distracted by animosity toward Nicaragua.
The negative presentation in much of the media was repeated when, later in April, they headlined that Nicaragua’s request had been “rejected” by the ICJ (e.g., AP, 4/30/24; NPR, 4/30/24), with the New York Times (4/30/24) again remembering to insert a derogatory comment about Nicaragua’s action being “hypocritical.” These followup reports largely overlooked the impact the case had on Germany’s ability to further arm Israel during its continued assault on Gaza.
Nicaraguan ‘Nazis’
The New York Times (3/2/23) ran a headline equating the Nicaraguan Sandinistas with the German Nazi Party, based on the claim that “the weaponizing of the justice system against political opponents in the way that is done in Nicaragua is exactly what the Nazi regime did.”
Corporate media had been gifted their criticisms of Nicaragua by a report published at the end of February by the UN Human Rights Council. A “group of human rights experts on Nicaragua” (the “GHREN”) had produced its second report on the country. Its first, last year, had accused Nicaragua’s government of crimes against humanity, leading to this eyebrow-raising New York Times headline (3/2/23): “Nicaragua’s ‘Nazis’: Stunned Investigators Cite Hitler’s Germany.”
The GHREN’s leader, German lawyer Jan-Michael Simon, had indeed likened the current Sandinista government to the Nazis. Times reporter Frances Robles quoted Simon:
“The weaponizing of the justice system against political opponents in the way that is done in Nicaragua is exactly what the Nazi regime did,” Jan-Michael Simon, who led the team of UN-appointed criminal justice experts, said in an interview.
“People massively stripped of their nationality and being expelled out of the country: This is exactly what the Nazis did too,” he added.
It’s quite an accusation, given that the Nazis established over 44,000 incarceration camps of various types and killed some 17 million people. Robles gave few numbers regarding the crimes Nicaragua is accused of, but did mention 40 extrajudicial killings in 2018 attributed to state and allied actors, and noted that the Ortega government had in 2023 “stripped the citizenship from 300 Nicaraguans who a judge called ‘traitors to the homeland.’”
Robles also quoted Juan Sebastián Chamorro, a member of the Nicaraguan oligarchic family who are among the Sandinista government’s fiercest opponents; Chamorro claimed there was evidence of “more than 350 people who were assassinated.” Even if true, this would seem to be a serious stretch from “exactly what the Nazis did.”
Like most Western reporters, Robles—who also wrote the recent ICJ piece for the Times—gave no attention to the criticisms of the GHREN’s work by human rights specialists, who argued that the GHREN did not examine all the evidence made available to it and interviewed only opposition sources. For example, former UN independent expert Alfred de Zayas castigated its first report in his book The Human Rights Industry, calling it a “political pamphlet” intended to destabilize Nicaragua’s government.
Even if one takes the GHREN account at face value, the Gaza genocide is at least 100 times worse in terms of numbers of fatalities, quite apart from other horrendous elements, such as deliberate starvation, indiscriminate bombing, destruction of hospitals and much more. It’s unclear why the accusations against Nicaragua should delegitimize the case against Germany.
Hague history
In 1986, the New York Times (6/28/86) reported that the ICJ found the US guilty of ”training, arming, equipping, financing and supplying the contra forces,” and of “direct attacks on Nicaraguan oil installations, ports and shipping.”
Many media reports did mention Nicaragua’s long history of support for Palestine—which undermines the accusation of cynicism underlying the case—but few noted the Latin American country’s history of success at the Hague. As Carlos Argüello, the Nicaraguan ambassador to the Netherlands who took the lead at the ICJ, pointed out, Nicaragua has more experience at the Hague than most countries, including Germany. This began with its pioneer case against the US in 1984, when it won compensation of £17 billion (that was never paid) for the damage done to Nicaragua by the US-funded Contra war and the mining of its ports.
One notable exception to that historical erasure came from Robles at the Times (4/8/24), who did refer to the 1984 case. But the point was clearly not to remind readers of US crimes, or to demonstrate that Nicaragua is an actor to be taken seriously in the realm of international law. The two academics she quoted both served to portray the current case as merely “cynical.”
The first, Mateo Jarquín, Robles quoted as saying that the Sandinista government has “a long track record…of using global bodies like the ICJ to carve out space for itself internationally—to build legitimacy and resist diplomatic isolation.” Robles didn’t disclose Jarquín’s second surname, Chamorro. Like her source in the earlier article, he is a member of the family that includes several government opponents.
Robles also quoted Manuel Orozco, a former Nicaraguan working at the Washington-based Inter-American Dialogue, whose major funders include the US Agency for International Development and the International Republican Institute, notorious for their role in promoting regime change, including in Nicaragua. Orozco told Robles that “Nicaragua lacks the moral and political authority to speak or advocate for human rights, much less on matters of genocide.”
‘Effectively siding with Germany’
AP (4/30/24) missed the significance of the ICJ holding that, “at present, the circumstances are not such as to require” an order forbidding Germany to ship weapons to Israel—namely, that Germany maintained that it already halted shipments of such weapons (Verfassungblog, 5/2/24).
On April 30, the ICJ declined to grant Nicaragua its requested provisional measures against Germany, including requiring the cessation of arms deliveries to Israel. Headlining this outcome, the Associated Press (4/30/24) said the court was “effectively siding with Germany.” The outlet did, however, continue by explaining that the court had “declined to throw out the case altogether, as Germany had requested,” and will hear arguments from both sides, with a resolution not likely to come for years.
That was better than NPR‘s report (4/30/24), which only mentioned that the court was proceeding with the case in its final paragraph.
But German lawyer and professor Stefan Talmon (Verfassungblog, 5/2/24), clarified that the court’s ruling “severely limits Germany’s ability to transfer arms to Israel.”
“The court’s order was widely interpreted as a victory for Germany,” Talmon commented. “A closer examination of the order, however, points to the opposite.” He concluded that although the ICJ did not generally ban the provision of arms to Israel, it did impose significant restrictions on it by emphasizing Germany’s obligation to “avoid the risk that such arms might be used to violate the [Genocide and Geneva] Conventions.”
And Talmon pointed out that the court appeared to make its decision that an order to halt war weapons shipments was unnecessary based on Germany’s claim that it had already stopped doing so.
“By expressly emphasizing that, ‘at present’, circumstances did not require the indication of provisional measures, the Court made it clear that it could indicate such measures in the future,” Talmon wrote.
Establishment media, seemingly distracted by the “hypocrisy” of Nicaragua challenging a country whose “legitimacy as a democratic state is unassailable,” mostly failed to notice that its legal efforts were therefore at least partially successful: It forced Germany to back down from its unstinting support for Israel’s genocide in Gaza, and alerted German politicians to the fact that they are at risk of being held accountable under international law if they transfer any further war weapons.
This content originally appeared on FAIR and was authored by John Perry.
We speak with Kenneth Roth, international affairs scholar and former head of Human Rights Watch, about revelations that Israel waged a nearly decadelong campaign to intimidate the International Criminal Court in order to stop possible war crimes prosecutions of Israeli officials. A joint investigation by The Guardian and the Israeli +972 Magazine revealed that Israel surveilled, hacked, smeared and threatened top ICC officials, including chief prosecutor Karim Khan and his predecessor, Fatou Bensouda. The former head of the Mossad, Yossi Cohen, is said to have personally threatened Bensouda. The revelations come just a week after Khan announced he is seeking arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant and three top leaders of Hamas. “This is a crime,” Roth says of the Israeli campaign against the ICC. He says the revelations also undermine U.S. claims that Israel can hold itself accountable. “There is no good-faith Israeli investigation. There is a concerted, high-level effort to undermine justice to protect Netanyahu, Gallant and others from war crime charges.”
This content originally appeared on Democracy Now! and was authored by Democracy Now!.
The two most dangerous presidents in American history lost the popular vote but won the slave state monument, the Electoral College: war criminal George W. Bush and Russian asset Donald Trump. Luckily it’s within reach to reform the Electoral College, protecting democracy and the world.
Alyssa Cass of the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact, a bipartisan movement to pass legislation in enough states across the country to ensure that the president is elected by the popular vote, joins Gaslit Nation to explain how to reform the Electoral College. Seventeen states and Washington, DC, with 209 electoral votes total, have already enacted the legislation. This means 61 electoral votes are needed in order for the popular vote–the will of the people–not the outdated and dangerous Electoral College, which gives way too much power to a handful of swing states, determines our elections. To be a part of the movement to reform the Electoral College, check the status of the legislation in your state and get involved: https://www.nationalpopularvote.com/state-status
This week’s bonus episode, exclusive to supporters at the Truth-teller ($5/month) level and higher, features Russian mafia expert Olga Lautman and European analyst Monique Camarra of the Kremlin File podcast on the making of Vladimir Putin. Listeners at the Democracy Defender ($10/month) level and higher join the conversation on Gaslit Nation’s coverage of Israel and Palestine. Thank you so much for all your comments! We always enjoy hearing from you!
Here are some of the exciting events we have coming up for our Patreon community at the Truth-teller tier and higher that make Gaslit Nation possible:
Investigative Journalist Craig Unger Live-Taping – June 25th 12pm ET:
June 25th is George Orwell’s birthday! Come celebrate with us at a live taping of Gaslit Nation, featuring another fearless journalist, Craig Unger, the author of several bestselling books: House of Trump, House of Putin; House of Bush, House of Saud; and American Kompromat: How the KGB Cultivated Donald Trump, and Related Tales of Sex, Greed, Power, and Treachery (which features his reporting on Jeffrey Epstein’s pedophile global crime syndicate). Joining the live-taping will be Russian mafia expert Olga Lautman and European analyst Monique Camarra of Kremlin File. Drop your questions in the chat! Be sure to subscribe at Patreon.com/Gaslit at the Truth-teller tier ($5/month) or higher to get your ticket. A zoom link will be sent out the morning of the event. Thank you to everyone who supports the show!
Cult Expert Dr. Janja Lalich Live-Taping – July 15 8pm ET
July 15th kicks off the Republican National Convention/Hitler rally in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. To help us cope with the mainstream media, especially the New York Times, continuing to normalize Trump and his MAGA cult, we’re producing a live taping with cult expert Dr. Janja Lalich. Bring your questions about how to navitage this perilous time of rampant disinformation and manipulation, learn the signs of cult grooming, and how to help loved ones who have fallen victim. This will be Dr. Lalich’s second time on the show. You can listen to the interview with her from April 2022 here.
In the Shadow of Stalin Book Launch – September
Gaslit Nation will host a live taping at a book launch in New York City for In the Shadow of Stalin, the graphic novel adaptation of Mr. Jones. It includes scenes that didn’t make it into the final cut of the film, or it would have been three hours long! The evening will include a special meet-up just for Patreon supporters. We look forward to sharing more details as we get closer. If you want a book event/live taping of Gaslit Nation in your town or city, let us know!
Indivisible x Gaslit Nation Phonebank Party! – June 20th 8pm ET
Open to all, Gaslit Nation and Indivisible are kicking things off early this year, really early! When there’s such a thing as Project 2025, there’s no time to waste. Come join us for our first phone bank party of the season, as we make calls to our fellow citizens in Republican hostage states, to refuse to abandon those on the frontlines of American authoritarianism, and to plant seeds of change. We’re going in!
The song you heard at the top of the show was ‘The Fuel’ by Jerrika Mighelle. You can find more music by Jerrika Mighelle on all streaming platforms or at jerrikamighelle.com. And be sure to check out the beautiful official video for ‘The Fuel’ on YouTube:
Surveillance and interference: Israel’s covert war on the ICC exposed Top Israeli government and security officials have overseen a nine-year surveillance operation targeting the ICC and Palestinian rights groups to try to thwart a war crimes probe, a joint investigation reveals.
Fareed Zakaria: Is Israel committing humanitarian crimes in Gaza? The Israeli gov’t strenuously denies it. Aryeh Neier, a giant in the world of human rights who escaped Nazi Germany and later cofounder Human Rights Watch, says the answer is yes. Our conversation from today’s GPS: https://x.com/FareedZakaria/status/1794793567543509201
Thomas Piketty’s Radical Plan to Redistribute Wealth
Following the death of the Iranian president in a helicopter crash on May 19, Chinese online users said that the Israeli government issued a statement mocking Iran, citing a post made by a pro-Israel non-profit organization on X as evidence.
But the claim is false. There is no publicly available evidence linking the organization to the Israeli government.
The claim was shared on Chinese social media platform Weibo on May 20, 2024.
“Israel uploaded a post mocking Iranian president’s helicopter accident #Iranian president killed,” the Chinese social media post reads in part.
It was shared alongside a screenshot of what appears to be a post from X, formerly known as Twitter.
The X post, uploaded by an account called “Israel War Room”, reads: “Friendly reminder that it’s not exactly safe to fly a helicopter through severe fog, nor is it particularly smart to put your FM and President in the same helicopter while doing so.”
Netizens on Weibo claimed that Israel issued a statement mocking the death of former Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi (left), with subsequent retweeters adding screenshots of the original source of the statement from a pro-Israel X account. (Screenshots/Weibo and Netease)
The claim began to circulate online after Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi was killed when his helicopter crashed in poor weather in mountains near the Azerbaijan border.
The charred wreckage of the helicopter, which had Raisi, Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian and six other passengers and crew on board, was found early on Monday, May 20, after an overnight search in blizzard conditions.
The Israel War Room’s X post was also cited in other Chinese-language social media posts here, here and here that referred to it as an official statement released by the Israeli government.
A number of accounts affiliated with official Chinese media outlets have reposted the purported statement by Israel’s government mocking Iran. (Screenshots/Douyin and Weibo)
However, the claim is false.
No official connection
A keyword search on X found the original post of Israel War Room on May 19, 2024.
Further keyword searches found the X account belongs to the website under the same name “Israel War Room” that describes itself as a “U.S. based non-profit that combats anti-Israel rhetoric and exposes misleading narratives about the Jewish state.”
Israel War Room is described as a non-profit organization on its official X account. (Screenshot/X)
The U.S. fact-checking organization PolitiFact describes the Israel War Room as pro-Israel, while an article by the U.S. weekly newspaper Jewish Journal simply refers to the organization as a social media account that tracks Israeli news on X and Instagram.
Neither article stated or suggested that the organization is affiliated with the Israeli government.
Separately, a search of the Israeli government’s website did not reveal any ministries using the name “Israel War Room.”
Keyword searches found no credible sources to show an official connection between the non-profit organization and the Israeli government.
Translated by Shen Ke. Edited by Shen Ke and Taejun Kang.
Asia Fact Check Lab (AFCL) was established to counter disinformation in today’s complex media environment. We publish fact-checks, media-watches and in-depth reports that aim to sharpen and deepen our readers’ understanding of current affairs and public issues. If you like our content, you can also follow us on Facebook, Instagram and X.
This content originally appeared on Radio Free Asia and was authored by By Zhuang Jing for Asia Fact Check Lab.
