Good morning,
Very few things make me angrier than when people in positions of power knowingly lie or withhold information that people have a right to know.
This probably makes it a bad idea for my blood pressure to work at a publication where we consistently cover policy and politics – and even have a dedicated newsletter to uncover what information is being held back.
Yesterday, thanks to Andrew Rettman's dogged reporting, he uncovered we'd been misled on a story we published in July. Based on a statement from the European Commission, he had reported that Israeli arms firm Rafael could lose its EU funding after publishing what amounts to a snuff film from Gaza on X.
A commission spokesperson — who consulted internal experts for a full week — told us funding might be clawed back, depending on an “independent ethics advisor’s” review. That was false. The advisor never had the authority to review Rafael's activities in Gaza (nor even the freedom to speak openly, bound as they were by an NDA).
If one of my journalists published something untrue, I’d be forced to issue a correction, explain the failure, and apologise to our readers. Institutions should be held to no less a standard.
This is not about a single spokesperson, likely following orders. It’s about the system: the deliberate choice to distort the truth. Should fact-finding really be left only to journalists stubborn enough to dig? Should a lie stand if no one checks back months later?
Perhaps that's just how it is.
But, if I may ask, don’t feed us bullshit. It just costs everyone time and people will find out the truth eventually. Not just because we have a right to, as journalists and as citizens, but because the truth matters – to some, at least.
– Alejandro Tauber, publisher
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