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edenfenixblogs · 5 months

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outside of the general principles of credibility and fact-checking (or including those if you want) and looking for commitment to peace and shared prosperity like you mentioned in your pinned, do you have any other advice on gauging the reliability of sources regarding israel/palestine? or any particular sources you recommend as reliable or warn against as unreliable? there's so much misinfo and disinfo out there that i often end up getting overwhelmed and sharing nothing specific - and i know that's not exactly helpful, i'm just not sure where to start.

This is SUCH a good and important question!!! Thank you so much for asking it. I’ve been waiting until after work today to answer, so I can give it the attention it deserves.

This is an incredibly complex topic. It is completely ok to tackle only one item of this at a time. It is ok to spend more time listening than speaking. It is ok to only do basic fact checking until these things become second nature. It seems like a lot. But it actually becomes quite simple when you realize that, as a member of a non-affected group, your only job is to steer the conversation toward truth and peace.

That means most of what you are doing is rejecting sources and individuals engaging in bad faith discourse by simply not engaging with them. Your next most common task will be to publicly fact check bad faith discourse or incorrect information that has spread too far.

It is tempting to become outraged when you become familiar with bad faith discourse and data and see it spread widely. However, remember that this is incredibly complex and even the most experienced people get things wrong on this subject all the time. If you notice an error in what appears to be someone trying to bring attention to a cause they care deeply about, approach with kindness first. Always.

Try a reblog or a personal message with a link to the problematic post and say something like,

Hey. I care a lot about [issue] too. And I am trying really hard to make sure everything being spread right now is verifiable and accurate so nobody gets upset about things that aren’t true. Did you know that [thing you said+link to the post where you said it] was actually proven false by [reliable source+link to that source]? I’m really glad that didn’t happen. Of course, terrible things are still happening [to Palestinians/Israelis/Jews/Muslims/Arabs] on/in [college campuses/diaspora/Palestine/Israel/etc] there all the time. But at least nobody has to suffer through [incorrect info]. By the way, I’ve found a lovely organization run by actual Palestinians/Israelis/Arabs/Muslims/Jews working together to find peace for all. Check it out, I think it has promise! [link to reliable cause/organization]

Here is a wonderful site for MENA-based organizations geared toward fostering a shared peaceful future in a variety of ways.

Give the poster a chance to self correct. You will be wrong in the future. Model the way you would like to be informed of an error.

I briefly touched on the basics of identifying any source as reliable here. I won’t reiterate because this may be a long post and I wanna save space. But it contains the basics of what I learned in college.

One of the most important things to keep in mind is that no source is objective. No source is without bias. And there is no way to make any source objective or without bias.

News is written by people. And all people have viewpoints. Giving all voices in a conflict equal importance is not inherently unbiased, because that risks giving support to more harmful ideas and equating harmful ideas, ideologies, and organizations with reasonable ones. Likewise, asserting that one viewpoint is correct and being unwavering in this belief no matter what is obviously no way to cultivate a balanced and well informed viewpoint.

Your job is to use critical thinking skills to examine the level of bias in a piece of media as well as how responsibly the source handles that bias. Your job is also to do your best to be aware of bias as well as what bias is relevant to the subject matter being reported. A source that is left leaning, but never shares fake information and is always verifiable is preferable to a source that is moderate but consistently shares half truths or faulty information.

Sometimes, information from a less than ideal source can be shared, but if you are sharing that source, you must explicitly state that source’s flaws and why you chose to share that information anyway. And if you are unable to find a better source, you should state that you are sharing information that may be incomplete or inaccurate and you are happy to update the post you are sharing if and when more information or confirmation from a more reliable source emerges. There are very limited situations where this is appropriate. Usually I would suggest not sharing information from such sources at all unless it can be backed up by better information.

One example of such a case is information about antisemitic hate crimes from the ADL. The ADL has a very problematic history and one should be aware of it when they share statistical data from the organization. However, that doesn’t make their information inherently unusable. It makes their information inherently suspect, though. In order for anything shared from the ADL to be worth sharing, you should be able to evaluate the data collection method and the sources of the data. And if there is any information in the data you are sharing that is not appropriate, you should explicitly draw attention to it, not try to hide it.

Case Study: Global Antisemitic Incidents in the Wake of Hamas’ War on Israel

This list contains very useful data on incidents of antisemitic violence against Jews in diaspora since 10/7/2023. I trust this data because: it links to each individual news source it references, often with pictures of the attacker/attack/incident and time stamps. It’s data is open to questioning and its sources are available to check individually. This is in line with the ADL’s mission statement of tracking antisemitism. Documenting antisemitism is not an inherently biased practice nor do I have any reason to believe that they lie about the antisemitic incidents they document. As that is not one of the things that critics accuse the ADL of, I do not see a reason to question its record on antisemitic incident reporting. I have never heard a critic make a substantiated claim against their formally collected data as falsified. I am willing to be proven wrong on this, but I will interrogate a source claiming this as thoroughly as I interrogate the ADL as a source itself. I am skeptical of this source because: the title of the article uses extremely biased language that makes the war seem one sided. The advantage of this source is: it is one of the few sources existing that collects data on antisemitic violence and hate incidents of Jews in diaspora. A sign of good faith from the organization: they dedicate a page to addressing criticisms of their organization, which means they feel confident that criticisms of them will stand up to scrutiny. It is not sufficient to use this page to absolve them of any of the listed criticisms, but it should help you find articles that critique the ADL as well as relevant information that supports their defense. Thus, you must come to your own conclusion on whether or not that information is trustworthy on the matter you are commenting on. A sign of possible bad faith from the organization: their page devoted to confronting myths and inaccuracies about their organization’s history does not address accusations about supporting South African Apartheid or failing to call the Armenian Genocide a genocide. An acknowledgment of my own limitations: I am not an expert in South African Apartheid in any way nor am I an expert on the Armenia genocide. Any other relevant information: Any reputable news sources verify information before reporting. If a news source that is verifiably responsible in its reporting cites information from the ADL, I will assume they have made adequate inquiries to verify that information as accurate enough to report. For example, if AP reported information and cited the ADL statistics, I would assume that the ADL made sure the data fit its high standard for reportage.

Conclusion: I find the ADL to be a trustworthy enough source of data about antisemitic attacks and incidents on Jews in diaspora, but only in cases where their sources and/or methodology are made public and/or another more regulated or otherwise more reliable source of statistical information partners with them. Because I lack expertise on South African Apartheid on the Armenian Genocide, I will not share information from the ADL about Palestinian apartheid, segregation, oppression, or genocide (until or unless I become more well-versed in these topics or am able to devote substantial energy into fact checking each claim in what I share. If I ever choose to do this, I will share every source I used to verify the information so that others may check my work and inform me if I’m wrong. At this time, I do not foresee a situation where I would refer to the ADL for matters about Palestinian concerns). The ADL in general and the linked source in particular seems to be an overall worthwhile source to cite on matters of antisemitism. The ADL does not meet my standards of a reliable source on Palestinian suffering. Check each link/source on an ADL source you want to share and form an informed conclusion on its reliability before sharing.

Also, be aware that primary sources with biased information are extremely valuable but never objective on their own. A tweet from the IDF or a statement from a released Palestinian prisoner may both be true! But sharing them as if they are definitely true without fact checking the information through the most trustworthy sources available is irresponsible. Do not share any social media information as fact. You are free to share social media information and publicly explore its implications in a responsible manner, but it is not responsible to discuss them as facts.

Case study: When something in Gaza or Israel is bombed, be sure that you know who the key players and commentators are.

When the IDF releases a statement blaming Hamas for bombing their own citizens, know that the IDF has a vested interest in not being perceived as an aggressor. When the Ministry of Health in Gaza accuses the Israeli military of being responsible for the attack, be aware that the Ministry of Health in Gaza is run by Hamas and is not a third party neutral source. Do not post anything about an event like this until the information is fully vetted by a neutral third party source (or as neutral as you are likely to find on such a hot button issue).

The best way you can help during an emerging story is to urge others to wait for full details, call out people irresponsibly casting blame before the facts are in (especially politicians), and repeatedly verify every source of information as they are named so that you know if they are trustworthy. Do not trust politicians who espouse inflammatory and prematurely accusatory information and do not make a public retraction and apology when they are found to be wrong.

That said, it is always appropriate to express sorrow for loss of life. You do not need to accuse a killer in order to do this.

There are also sites geared toward helping you identify the source itself fairly. Note: sites like these will help you evaluate the publication or news entity (eg New York Times, Al Jazeera, Haaretz, etc.). They won’t help you evaluate an individual journalist or article.

Some sites to help you verify credibility:

Media Bias Fact Check: Allows you to verify sources based on the news source’s political bias in terms of a left-right spectrum as well as by their reliability on matters of science, their use of questionable sources, and use of satire. Also, you can check how reliably factual the source’s reporting is. You can also sort by country, media type, general credibility, and how well trafficked the source is. They also publicly offer insight into their methodology of coming to these conclusions.

The Associated Press (AP) fact checks individual claims. Other news organizations fact checking claims include Reuters, The Washington Post and AFP. While AP is a gold standard and generally reliable, be aware that news organizations are also subject to bias. The advantage is that news organizations have investigative reporters on staff to investigate claims. The disadvantage is the bias inherent to the publication itself.

Other third party cites checking facts in news reports and in politics include:

FactCheck.org

Politifact

Snopes

Lakehead University offers an entire site devoted to developing media literacy as well as many ways to search fact checking sites. So does Kansas State University, and UMass Amherst. Many universities offer sites like this. I urge you to look into them.

Once you find a news or data source you trust, do a quick google search on the journalist’s name and a relevant phrase to the aspect of the conflict being reported on. For example The Newspaper Tribune Times Chronicle may be trustworthy. Veteran reporter, Ima Journalist may have written an article about Israel Bombing Gaza. So, before sharing it, just Google: “Ima journalist” + Israel Palestine Jews antisemitism Islamophobia. Make sure you don’t see something like “Ima Journalist photographed screaming ‘Hitler was actually a super good guy!’ anywhere in her history. When satisfied, feel free to share the story.

Other points to keep in mind:

Be aware of crappy tactics on both sides of the i/p conflict.

The IDF is often accused of excessive violence and planting evidence on Palestinians. This often leads to Palestinians being unfairly accused of terrorist intent and criminal violence.

Hamas uses civilians as human shields — both by using individual humans as shields and also launching bombs from civilian buildings (like hospitals, preschools, and libraries), building militaristic infrastructure in or beneath those same civilian buildings, and instigating conflict with IDF soldiers positioned near residential and civilian locations. This allows Hamas to escape criticism by framing the IDF as mindlessly bloodthirsty and eager to kill Palestinian civilians.

And finally, make sure accusations and talking points never conform to antisemitic conspiracy theories.

The universal aspects of antisemitic conspiracy theories (detailed more fully in the source linked above and also in another post I made) are:

Accusing Jews of replacing another group or population

Accusing Jews of pretending to be something they are not

Accusing Jews of dominating or attempting to dominate a prominent or essential aspect of a society or the world at large.

Accusing Jewish people of genocide and bloodlust in pursuit of personal gain

Accusing Jews of undue privilege or if appropriating something belonging to others.

Dehumanizing Jews by grouping them under a collective name or identity.

I hope this helps! Feel free to share it!

#antisemitism #islamophobia #media literacy #infodemiology #long post #resources #fact checking #Israel #Palestine #critical thinking #how to help #responsible advocacy #jewish muslim solidarity #israel Palestine solidarity #israeli Palestinian solidarity #be kind

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the-record-columns · 7 years

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Oct. 18, 2017: Columns

Ellen, Dee, Dewitte—I loved all three

By KEN WELBORN

Record Publisher

This past Friday afternoon I was holding court at the foot of the basement steps in the catacombs of The Record, visiting with a pleasant young woman named Tara Fitz.

From where we were talking, I could see upstairs and could easily hear the bell on the front door which jingled, followed by another woman appearing at the top of the steps.

When she asked if I remembered who she was, it was easy, because it was a face I remembered from childhood, a neighbor from Hinshaw Street; younger than me, but easily familiar because she was one of the Berrong children I grew up with—Jane. All grown up and living in Wingate, N.C., Jane Hersey had stopped in to make sure I knew of the death of her mother, Ellen Dewitte Berrong, who had died on Wednesday, Oct. 11. I assured her that I knew and was deeply saddened, but quickly our brief visit turned much lighter as we began to reminisce about her amazing mother. I promised Jane that all those wonderful memories she had of her mother, and those days with all her brothers and sisters would carry her through many a long night of missing Dee. Truly, it is like a warm blanket on a cold night.

I am not exactly sure when I first met Dee Berrong, but it was as a small child. They lived in two different houses while in the Hinshaw Street part of North Wilkesboro, but it is when they were three houses down below the apartment my family lived in that I had the most contact. Dee was 10 years younger than my own mother, Cary, and had six children. Two of her boys, Joe Don and John were the closest to my age and we often played and got into mischief together; most memorably on every Halloween night. I was the baby and the last one still at home, what with two of my brothers grown and married, and Wayne old enough to be pretty much on his own; but Dee had a houseful and clearly was up to the task of maintaining order. Often Joe Don, John and I would hide out at our apartment until things cooled down a bit, because Dee wasn't one to put up with too many shenanigans.

The Berrong's moved off Hinshaw Street after a few years, but by then our families were forever tied together by the memories of baseball on the vacant lots on Toll Road, selling pop bottles to buy candy bars and 10 cent Cokes from Joe Johnson at the Community Grocery, throwing eggs and water balloons at Goat Canter's house on J Street, and, of course, the love of our mothers, Dewitte and Cary.

From those days till now, anytime I would run into any one of the Berrongs it was like a family reunion. Once, John stopped by the offices of The Record and we must have talked for three hours about the good times and the good memories of those youthful days.

As a young woman, Dee Berrong worked at the old Goodwill Department Store for the legendary Nike Smithey. It was from her experience there that I was able to learn the “secret” recipe for the famous Goodwill bread burgers. She also spent many years as a Department Manager at the Roses store in North Wilkesboro, specifically in the huge toy department which took up a great deal of the stores floor space. As store managers came and went at Roses, all would remember Dee's ability to keep the toy department organized, clean, and very profitable. One manager, however, a Mr., Oakley, objected to Dee's penchant for a little snuff now and then, telling her that the snuff simply “...had to go.” Well, it did, and Dee went with it, but in no time Mr. Oakley was calling to welcome Dee and her snuff back to the toy department.

Some years later, my parents ended up being next door neighbor's with Dee Berrong on K Street in North Wilkesboro. I knew that my parents thought a lot of Dee, but the longer they were next door, the closer they became. While my parents never had a daughter, they were blessed with my brother, T. A.'s, wife, Pug, and with Dee Berrong. Uncounted are the times I would stop to visit with my parents and Dee would be sitting at the kitchen table with them, or I would find them next door with Dee. There was nothing my parents needed that Dee wouldn't hesitate to look after. As their health began to fail, Dee stayed even closer to them, to the point that, if mom and dad didn't answer the phone, I would call Dee to check on them. In a moment she would call back to let me know they were outside digging in the flowers or would just put one of them on the phone to let me know that all was well..

When my parents died in 1995 Dee Berrong was about the same age as I am now. Clearly, she grieved them like the wonderfully loving daughter that she had become. Whenever I would see Dee out somewhere or visit at her apartment in North Wilkesboro, it wasn't long until remembering mom and dad was a great part of our time together. She would always remind me that she loved my mother and dad like her own and that she knew they loved her.

As do I.

Ellen, Dee, or Dewitte—I loved them all.

Ellen Dewitte Berrong

July 16, 1926 – October 11, 2017

Rest in Peace

Rethinking ourselves

By LAURA WELBORN

When it comes to feeling better about ourselves, and our place in the world, the biggest and most complex obstacle we have to overcome is our mind. If we can overcome that, we can overcome almost anything life throws at us.

The key is in accepting the fact that while we can’t control exactly what happens in life, we CAN control how we respond to it all. And in our response is our power to grow and move forward.

Bring awareness to the story you’re telling yourself, about yourself — You have a story about yourself that you recite to yourself daily. This is your mental movie, and it’s a feature film that plays on repeat in your mind. Start to pay attention when your movie plays—when you feel anxiety about being who you are—because it affects everything you do. Realize that this movie isn’t real, it isn’t true, and it isn’t you. It’s just a train of thought that can be stopped—a script that can be rewritten.

Rewrite the script (edit the storyline of your mental movie) — Your new script will replace that played-out one that keeps running in your cerebral theater. And this time you will consciously craft it. Start with the fact that you are a good person who is learning and working on getting better. Then ask people who love you to tell you why you’re lovable. And ask people who respect you to tell you why they do. Use their stories as scenes in your new movie script. Then fill in the blanks with recent moments and outcomes in your life that you are grateful for. Try to focus on the things you don’t celebrate enough, and the things you don’t give yourself enough credit for.

Practice your new lines — Learn to recognize the worn-out flicker of your old movie starting up, and then stop it. Whenever you catch yourself reciting lines from your old script, flip the script and replace those lines with lines from your new movie script. This takes lots of practice. Just keep practicing, and forgiving yourself for making mistakes along the way.

Deflect external negativity by taking it less personally — Various kinds of external negativity will attempt to distract you from your new script — comments from family, social media posts… lots of things people say and do. When you sense negativity coming at you, learn to deflect it. Give it a small push back with a thought like, “That remark is not really about me, it’s about you.” Remember that all people have emotional issues they’re dealing with (just like you), and it makes them defiant, rude, and thoughtless sometimes. They are doing the best they can, or they’re not even aware of their issues. In any case, you can learn not to interpret their behaviors as personal attacks, and instead see them as non-personal encounters (like a dog barking in the distance, or a bumblebee buzzing by) that you can either respond to gracefully, or not respond to at all. (Marc and Angel Hack life blog)

Then ask yourself:

Can I be ABSOLUTELY certain this story is true?

How do I feel and behave when I tell myself this story?

What’s one other (more positive) possibility that might also be true?

It all goes back to our thoughts are just our thoughts and quite possibly are not reality, although we convince ourselves they are. I think back on how many times I have confronted someone with "my thoughts" and found that was not what they meant at all. I tend to take my insecurities and magnify them into someone else's mind which is never healthy. I hope I will check in with people more and above all give people the benefit of the doubt.

Laura Welborn, Mediator and Addiction Counselor at DonLIn Counseling. contact [email protected]

Pity the Palestinians

By EARL COX

Special to The Record

I’d like to talk about the Palestinians—apart from the question of statehood. One should be provoked to compassion for the Palestinian people, because they are being destroyed by lies and strong delusion. Their leaders cause their young men to err by dangling the lie of beautiful virgins waiting to award them in paradise for the “honor” of murder or violence—and their own bloody and terrifying deaths. The Palestinians are destroying with their own hands those who in other circumstances could have been their brightest, bravest and most valiant young men—to lies.

Then there are lies about money: Instead of seeding $693 million in aid for 2017 toward needed infrastructure, education, and shoring up social and medical services, the Palestinian government will funnel roughly half—$334 million—to pay “salaries” to jailed or released terrorists and suicide bombers’ families. That’s not to mention the charges against PA President Mahmoud Abbas and his sons for corruption and misuse of public funds, or his jealously guarding his successorship to preserve his son’s business empires—a form of deception that deprives his people of governmental accountability. These examples are hard evidence that many in the current government have little compassion for their own people.

Political lies, many outlandish—are also rampant. According to Palestinian Media Watch, libels include: Israel steals organs from Palestinians; Israel seeks rule from the Euphrates to the Nile; Israel murdered Arafat (Abbas and rival Mohammed Dahlan accused each other of the same crime).

Instead of using schools to build strong academic foundations that encourage creative thought and expression, to give their children hope and a future, they enforce learning by rote with an inflammatory mix of distorted history and geography, false claims, propaganda, and incitement to violence. For example, a review of new UNWRA textbooks shows that “for the next generation of Palestinian kids, there is no Israel, it doesn’t exist,” Rabbi Abraham Cooper, Simon Wiesenthal Center associate dean told The Algemeiner. Instead of training young men to solve societal problems, they major in Stone Throwing and Kitchen Daggers 101, while their young women are traumatized by violence at home.

The Palestinians well understand the Temple Mount’s long, rich Jewish history. That’s why they go to great efforts to sabotage or destroy Jewish artifacts and other archeological evidence. That’s why they claim the Temple Mount is “in danger” of being restored to its original owner—Israel (see 2 Sam. 18-25; 2 Chron. 3:1).

If a terrorist with Israeli blood on his hands survives, he is promoted to leadership, calcifying the self-destructive cycle—just as terrorist Saleh al-Arouri was recently appointed deputy head of Hamas’ political bureau. Future leaders, who under other circumstances might have the potential to excel, and live normal, fulfilling lives, are caught in the vicious cycle.

If a child learns that the “right” way to deal with a disagreeable situation is by lying or turning violent, how will he cope with any disagreement? Palestinian violence is already turning inward to shred its own society. “People have forgotten the meaning of tolerance and resort to shooting to solve any small problem,” an Arab told Ynet News during a spike in Arab vs. Arab violence.

What can one expect when a people’s basic tenets of worship and law condone lies and deception? According to Quran 8:39, Muslims have a "divinely sanctioned" right to deceive, until "all religion belongs to Allah"–-that is, until they take their global caliphate by force. While Islamic ideology normally channels lying and deception toward non-Muslims, habitual lying and deceit seems to have seeped into relationships with their fellows.

Lying is not the exclusive domain of Muslims—but its danger lies in systematic practice. And certainly, lies and deception are an unstable foundation for any government, let alone a potential state.

By contrast, consider the attributes of G-d for both Jews and Christians: He extols truth, and withholds life and blessings to “whoever loves and practices a lie.”

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