This week, David Kirpatrick wrote in the New York Times a report about journalist Mohamed Fahmy who has filed a lawsuit against his formal employer the Al-Jazeera Media Network.
Here is a twitter thread by Samuel Tadros, Senior Fellow in the Hudson Institute, aptly explaining why this report is disturbing.
The way a hit job works: Qatar passes dirty file to NYT, NYT writes story, Al Jazeera reports citing NYT https://t.co/VlMD1qyDiv https://t.co/bVW2CQYJgJ
— Samuel Tadros (@Samueltadros) July 1, 2017
I don't know @MFFahmy11, met him once a month ago & have no interest in Qatar UAE food fight, but @nytimes piece is quite disturbing
— Samuel Tadros (@Samueltadros) July 1, 2017
The only true revelation there seems to be that UAE helped Fahmy with money in his campaign against Qatar and Al Jazeera
— Samuel Tadros (@Samueltadros) July 1, 2017
Why mention the allegations that he is an Italian spy, when you know it isnt true. Why throw in Israel? To make it more juicy?
— Samuel Tadros (@Samueltadros) July 1, 2017
Then there is the personal jibe "drank alcohol and seldom prayed," are we going to report on people's personal religiosity?
— Samuel Tadros (@Samueltadros) July 1, 2017
Whether Fahmy prays or drinks is none of anyone's business and has nothing to do with his work
— Samuel Tadros (@Samueltadros) July 1, 2017
Then there is the bizarre comments attributed to former inmates. Whom might these be? Muslim Brotherhood? Shouldn't this be mentioned?
— Samuel Tadros (@Samueltadros) July 1, 2017
"His fellow prisoners said the lawsuit appeared motivated in part by a desire for a big payoff from Qatar" Really, again who are they? MB?
— Samuel Tadros (@Samueltadros) July 1, 2017
"Other handwritten documents, also unconfirmed, indicate a secret account in the Vatican Bank." What is intended here by mention of bank?
— Samuel Tadros (@Samueltadros) July 1, 2017
It is not hard for anyone to understand why Fahmy is angry with his former employee. He feels he was used and wants to take revenge.
— Samuel Tadros (@Samueltadros) July 1, 2017
You dont have to agree with his views and rational to acknowledge that this is personal to him. He blames Al Jazeera for his plight
— Samuel Tadros (@Samueltadros) July 1, 2017
"Mr. Fahmy, no longer a neutral bystander, has become a pawn exploited & abused by both sides." Fahmy is no pawn. He is a man with vendetta
— Samuel Tadros (@Samueltadros) July 1, 2017
The piece is an indication of larger problem in Western coverage of region. W journalists are no longer reporters, they have taken a side
— Samuel Tadros (@Samueltadros) July 1, 2017
I get it. You are young & got excited by Arab Spring, but seriously just grow up. The world has moved, so can you
— Samuel Tadros (@Samueltadros) July 1, 2017
Of course this is hardly new. When I wrote the article on Samira Ibrahim, @nytimes reporter asked if my Coptic faith influenced that
— Samuel Tadros (@Samueltadros) July 1, 2017
I think it is a combination of many things. 1. There is a tendency to view the region in black and white terms
— Samuel Tadros (@Samueltadros) July 1, 2017
Western reporters in ME became attached to narrative, to friends, they didnt mingle in "felol" Cairo but in Tahrir Cairo
— Samuel Tadros (@Samueltadros) July 1, 2017
Not so surprising considering he's the one who wrote this whitewash of #Islamist militia involvement in #Benghazi. https://t.co/TwSi8JvQwa https://t.co/btX4j1P4uy
— Charles Hoskinson (@cehoskinson) July 2, 2017
Western reporters are not just taking sides in Gulf crisis; they are happily siding by an authoritarian regime against a fellow journalist
— Nervana Mahmoud (@Nervana_1) July 1, 2017
Nervana 