MSNBC declares
state of Palestine

MSNBC has declared the state of Palestine on its online Arabic-language portal, while leaving off Israel from its list of nations.

WorldNetDaily had its Arabic translator check out the site after a reader raised an objection to the inclusion of the non-existent state. The translator confirms that MSNBC.com's Arabic version includes "Palestine" in a list of 19 countries on the side of the site under the heading "Local Arab News." The "nations" are: "Emirates, Egypt, Saudi, Syria, Palestine, Jordan, Lebanon, Algeria, Morocco, Tunisia, Libya, Kuwait, Iraq, Sudan, Yemen, Somalia, Qatar, Bahrain, Oman and Mauritania."

The translator describes these country headings as links to pages containing story headlines. At the time the site was checked, the "Palestine" link pulled up stories headlined, "Death threats against the PA," "Arafat condemns Israeli occupation," and "Arafat affirms rule despite being surrounded."

As WorldNetDaily reported last month, Motorola similarly skewed reality in its consumer product brochures given out to European and Israeli customers. Cellphone purchasers were alarmed to see the literature excluded Israel but included "Palestine," and Jerusalem, the capital of Israel, was listed as a Palestinian city.

In response to WorldNetDaily's story, Motorola's director of communications and public affairs apologized "for any concern that this error may have caused."

The "mistake" caused a furor in Israel and beyond, sparking a campaign among hundreds of executives of Israeli companies to end contracts with Motorola unless the high-tech corporate giant places ads in Israeli newspapers announcing the destruction of the "erroneous manuals" and explaining the reference to the Palestinian Authority as "Palestine."

Israel's Foreign Minister Shimon Peres outlined a peace plan yesterday negotiated with a senior Palestinian lawmaker, Ahmed Qureia, that calls for a cease-fire followed quickly by the establishment of a Palestinian state.

"We will recognize a Palestinian state; they will recognize the state of Israel," Peres told Israel Radio. The Associated Press describes the plan as "long on optimism and short on supporters."

President Bush has repeatedly voiced support for the creation of a Palestinian state that "recognizes the existence of Israel."

While some would call the adoption of "Palestine" as a country heading by MSNBC.com "premature," others would call it "wishful thinking."

When questioned about the "Palestine" reference, Cherylynne Crowther, vice president of marketing and communications for MSNBC.com explained she didn't have access to a translation of the "navigational decisions of the site" and couldn't verify whether WND's "characterization of it is correct or not."

"With any of our business partners, we monitor their products for their quantitative and qualitative performance. The details you've provided focus on navigation and organizational decisions within the site. Currently, our translation intent is to review top stories and headlines. We are now expanding the scope of our translation agreement to include navigation such as you have highlighted," Crowther told WorldNetDaily, adding that the expanded scope would take effect today.

In October, MSNBC.com launched a "strategic alliance" with GOOD NEWS 4 ME, or GN4ME, to serve as MSNBC.com's Arabic-language portal.

"MSNBC.com has maintained the No. 1 position for two and a half years because we are constantly working to increase audience reach and depth of content," said John Nicol, president and CEO of MSNBC.com, in a press release at the time.

According to the release, GN4ME employs "more than 500 journalists, reporters, writers, researchers and correspondents worldwide" to provide "updated coverage of Arab and World money markets, stocks, bonds, currencies and oil markets. In addition, GN4ME supplies in-depth economic analysis for Arab businessmen."

"We're trusting there's not some anti-Semitic bias," Michael Salata, MSNBC's business development manager commented, according to Wired, referring to the translations provided by GN4ME. "We have a lot of faith in their coverage."

"Unlike many outlets in the region, the MSNBC site will be free of government censorship, 'which is one of the reasons we did it. There is a need for unbiased news in the region, and we hope to go beyond state-run media,'" Wired quotes Salata as saying.

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