MintPress News: Difference between revisions
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When asked about the MintPress News story, [[Åke Sellström]], the chief U.N. weapons inspector in Syria remarked, "they are famous for [[1001 Arabian Nights]] stories!"<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.cbrneworld.com/_uploads/download_magazines/Sellstrom_Feb_2014_v2.pdf |title=Modern Warfare |work=CBRN World |date=February 2014 |first=Gwyn |last=Winfield |accessdate=February 3, 2016}}</ref> |
When asked about the MintPress News story, [[Åke Sellström]], the chief U.N. weapons inspector in Syria remarked, "they are famous for [[1001 Arabian Nights]] stories!"<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.cbrneworld.com/_uploads/download_magazines/Sellstrom_Feb_2014_v2.pdf |title=Modern Warfare |work=CBRN World |date=February 2014 |first=Gwyn |last=Winfield |accessdate=February 3, 2016}}</ref> |
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==Claims of |
==Claims and counter-claims of pro-Assad coverage== |
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{{confusing section|small=no|date=May 2019}} |
{{confusing section|small=no|date=May 2019}} |
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In October 2015, the Minnesota ''[[Star Tribune]]'' published a citizen op-ed by Terry Burke in which she accused MintPress, and other alternative Internet news sites, of pro-Assad coverage, including polls claiming majority support for Assad, interviews with the Syrian leader, articles about rebels and ISIL abuses in addition to blaming the U.S. for the civil war in Syria.<ref name=Burke>{{cite news|title=Media beyond the mainstream: Syria's information wars|url=http://www.startribune.com/media-beyond-the-mainstream-syria-s-information-wars/337733421/ |work=[[Star Tribune]]|location=Minnesota|date=October 27, 2015|access-date=May 21, 2019}}</ref> Mnar Muhawesh, in her reply, asserted that being against U.S. intervention in foreign wars does not mean one is pro-dictator. She added, "President Obama is President Bush on steroids. Why then, do people in the progressive community suddenly support 'spreading democracy' when it is a Democrat carrying out Republican policies?" Responding to a query from Burke about the site's funding Muhawesh indicated it came from donations, sponsorships, grants and ad revenue.<ref>{{cite news|last=Muhawesh|first=Mnar|url=http://www.startribune.com/counterpoint-don-t-bash-watchdogs-in-syria-s-information-war/342136901/|title=Counterpoint: Don't bash watchdogs in Syria's 'information war'|work=[[StarTribune]]|location=Minnesota|date=November 8, 2015|access-date=May 21, 2019}}</ref> |
In October 2015, the Minnesota ''[[Star Tribune]]'' published a citizen op-ed by Terry Burke in which she accused MintPress, and other alternative Internet news sites, of pro-Assad coverage, including polls claiming majority support for Assad, interviews with the Syrian leader, articles about rebels and ISIL abuses in addition to blaming the U.S. for the civil war in Syria.<ref name=Burke>{{cite news|title=Media beyond the mainstream: Syria's information wars|url=http://www.startribune.com/media-beyond-the-mainstream-syria-s-information-wars/337733421/ |work=[[Star Tribune]]|location=Minnesota|date=October 27, 2015|access-date=May 21, 2019}}</ref> Mnar Muhawesh, in her reply, asserted that being against U.S. intervention in foreign wars does not mean one is pro-dictator. She added, "President Obama is President Bush on steroids. Why then, do people in the progressive community suddenly support 'spreading democracy' when it is a Democrat carrying out Republican policies?" Responding to a query from Burke about the site's funding Muhawesh indicated it came from donations, sponsorships, grants and ad revenue.<ref>{{cite news|last=Muhawesh|first=Mnar|url=http://www.startribune.com/counterpoint-don-t-bash-watchdogs-in-syria-s-information-war/342136901/|title=Counterpoint: Don't bash watchdogs in Syria's 'information war'|work=[[StarTribune]]|location=Minnesota|date=November 8, 2015|access-date=May 21, 2019}}</ref> |
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Revision as of 01:26, 28 May 2019
Type of site | News website |
|---|---|
| Available in | English |
| Editor | Mnar Muhawesh |
| URL | mintpressnews |
| Commercial | Yes |
| Registration | Optional |
| Launched | 2012 |
MintPress News is a Minnesota-based news website launched in January 2012. Although it covers domestic news, it aims to increase the American public's interest in international affairs.[1]
History
MintPress News was founded by Mnar Muhawesh, a broadcast journalism graduate of St. Cloud State University. Muhawesh began her career as an intern at Minnesota television station KARE and as a freelance journalist.[2] After posting her own work on a blog, in 2011 she decided to launch her own news site.[3] Muhawesh said she believed "our media has failed us very miserably," and spoke of her aspirations for MintPress, citing uninformed public debates around issues like Iran's nuclear capabilities, or intervention in Syria. "We are in a crucial time in American history where most Americans don't know what's going on in the world around them."[1]
MintPress News said it was a for-profit "regular news organization," with an initial business plan where advertising revenues would exceed costs after three years.[2] MintPress's anonymous investors were originally intended to fund MintPress operations until 2015.[1] However, in 2013 in an email to BuzzFeed, Muhawesh said she restructured the business plan and was now the sole investor financing MintPress: "MintPress was originally funded by angel investors when I was first putting the company together over a year ago, but that route fell through last year as I restructured the business plan."[4]
By 2016, MintPress News had begun reprinting copy from RT (formerly Russia Today) and Sputnik.[5]
Coverage of the Ghouta chemical attacks
On August 29, 2013, a MintPress article attributed to Dale Gavlak and Yahya Ababneh said that Syrian rebels and local residents in Ghouta, Syria alleged that the Al-Nusra Front was responsible for the chemical weapons attack on August 21. The website said the allegation was based on interviews conducted in Syria. The article's sources claimed that weapons had been delivered to untrained fighters and "some of the fighters handled the weapons improperly and set off the explosions."[6]
On September 20, the Brown Moses Blog published a statement from Gavlak saying that "despite my repeated requests, made directly and through legal counsel, they have not been willing to issue a retraction stating that I was not the author. Yahya Ababneh is the sole reporter and author of the Mint Press News piece."[7][8] Gavlak also said the report had not been verified.[9][10] The dispute was also covered by The New York Times' news blog The Lede and McClatchy.[7][11]
MintPress added an editor's note at the top of the article stating Ababneh was the sole reporter on the ground in Syria, while Gavlak assisted in researching and writing the article. It said that Gavlak was a MintPress News correspondent who had freelanced for the Associated Press in Jordan for a decade. A note at the bottom of the story says: "Some information in this article could not be independently verified. Mint Press News will continue to provide further information and updates."[6] On September 21, 2013, MintPress published a statement by Muhawesh saying soon after the article was published, Gavlak retracted her involvement due to pressure from third parties, which Gavlak believed was prompted by Prince Bandar. The statement also claimed that Abadneh was being threatened by Saudi officials.[12]
When asked about the MintPress News story, Åke Sellström, the chief U.N. weapons inspector in Syria remarked, "they are famous for 1001 Arabian Nights stories!"[13]
Claims and counter-claims of pro-Assad coverage
 | This section may be confusing or unclear to readers. (May 2019) |
In October 2015, the Minnesota Star Tribune published a citizen op-ed by Terry Burke in which she accused MintPress, and other alternative Internet news sites, of pro-Assad coverage, including polls claiming majority support for Assad, interviews with the Syrian leader, articles about rebels and ISIL abuses in addition to blaming the U.S. for the civil war in Syria.[14] Mnar Muhawesh, in her reply, asserted that being against U.S. intervention in foreign wars does not mean one is pro-dictator. She added, "President Obama is President Bush on steroids. Why then, do people in the progressive community suddenly support 'spreading democracy' when it is a Democrat carrying out Republican policies?" Responding to a query from Burke about the site's funding Muhawesh indicated it came from donations, sponsorships, grants and ad revenue.[15]
Soon afterwards, Brian Lambert of MinnPost wrote a blog post stating that MintPress listed 20 of its writers, whom he labeled as "far-flung activist bloggers", and a mission statement.[9] He also said that MintPress did not disclose information concerning its funding despite the fact that MintPress regularly conducted fund-raising campaigns. It did, he wrote, "concede" that "Bashar al-Assad is a thug".[9]
"Anti-ISIS" Arbaeen pilgrimage claim
In November 2016, a MintPress News article entitled "Media Blackout As Millions Of Muslims March Against ISIS In Iraq" became a top trending story on Facebook, which prompted criticism that the article was misleading. BuzzFeed News countered, "This week has seen millions of Shiite Muslims participate in Arbaeen, one of the world's largest pilgrimages, in Iraq. But they are not specifically marching against ISIL, nor has there been a 'media blackout.'" BuzzFeed News said the article had been sourced from American Herald Tribune, a website edited by a Canadian professor, Anthony Hall, a conspiracy theorist on issues relating to the 9/11 attacks and Sandy Hook shooting who had been suspended from his job at an Alberta university on charges of antisemitism.[5] MintPress stood by its story.[16]
References
- ^ a b c Binkovitz, Leah (March 28, 2012). "Mint Press News". Columbia Journalism Review. Retrieved May 20, 2019.
- ^ a b Brauer, David (January 18, 2012). "Who is MintPress and why are they doing all this hiring?". MinnPost. Minneapolis, MN. Retrieved May 20, 2019.
- ^ McKeone Peterson, Liz (November 2012). "Maple Grove Young Entrepreneurs". Maple Grove Magazine. Retrieved June 26, 2015.
- ^ Gray, Rosie; Testa, Jessica (October 1, 2013). "The Inside Story of One Website's Defense of Assad". BuzzFeed. Retrieved May 19, 2019.
- ^ a b Silverman, Craig (November 24, 2016). "Facebook Trending Promoted A Misleading Story About A Muslim Pilgrimage". BuzzFeed News. Retrieved 24 November 2016.
- ^ a b Gavlak, Dale; Abadneh, Yahya (August 29, 2013). "EXCLUSIVE: Syrians In Ghouta Claim Saudi-Supplied Rebels Behind Chemical Attack". MintPress News. Retrieved June 26, 2015.
- ^ a b Mackey, Robert (September 21, 2013). "Reporter Denies Writing Article That Linked Syrian Rebels to Chemical Attack". The New York Times. Retrieved February 3, 2016.
- ^ "Statement By Dale Gavlak On The Mint Press Article 'Syrians In Ghouta Claim Saudi-Supplied Rebels Behind Chemical Attack'". Brown Moses Blog. September 20, 2013. Retrieved June 26, 2015.
- ^ a b c Lambert, Brian (November 11, 2015). "The mystery of MintPress News". MinnPost. Minneapolis, MN. Retrieved May 20, 2019.
- ^ Tevlin, Jon (October 1, 2013). "Tevlin: If Syria story is true, why is Minnesota news site hiding?". StarTribune. Minnesota. Retrieved May 20, 2019.
- ^ Prothero, Mitchell (September 22, 2013). "Reporter says story on Minnesota website linking Syrian rebels to chemical weapons wasn't hers". StarTribune. Minnesota. McClatchy. Retrieved March 25, 2016.
- ^ Muhawesh, Mnar (September 21, 2013). "Official Statement On Dale Gavlak's Involvement In Syria Exclusive". MintPress News. Retrieved June 26, 2015.
- ^ Winfield, Gwyn (February 2014). "Modern Warfare" (PDF). CBRN World. Retrieved February 3, 2016.
- ^ "Media beyond the mainstream: Syria's information wars". Star Tribune. Minnesota. October 27, 2015. Retrieved May 21, 2019.
- ^ Muhawesh, Mnar (November 8, 2015). "Counterpoint: Don't bash watchdogs in Syria's 'information war'". StarTribune. Minnesota. Retrieved May 21, 2019.
- ^ Muhawesh, Mnar (2016-12-23). "Islam, ISIS & Buzzfeed: What You're Not Being Told". MintPress News. Retrieved 2017-03-14.