Iranian Jury Finds Reuters Chief Guilty Of Propaganda And Spreading Lies

A Reuters journalist has been convicted of propaganda by an Iranian court after producing false reports spread around in the western media back in February.

Back in February the corporate media put the Iran war propaganda machine into overdrive making wild claims Iran was doing everything from engaging in illegal rogue central banking actions in an attempt to destabilize the United States to claiming Iran was training an army of female ninja assassins.

According to the corporate media reports the ninjas would be used used to attack foreign invaders to respond to a western invasion.

Iran Training Thousands Of Female Ninjas Ahead Of Inevitable War
Following President Obama’s declaring the threat of Iran a National Emergency, the MSM media is running reports Iran is training thousand of female ninja assassins.

I really couldn’t believe it, but this must be the most laughable propaganda tactic ever, and you can watch the video below. The headlines coming out of the media right now – “Iran is training thousands of female ninja assassins , diplomats order gas masks as embassies in Israel prepare for Iran strike and the Israeli press runs headlines warning war with Iran in inevitable.

Coincidentally, these reports follow Obama invoking his new NDAA powers to declare the threat from Iran a National Emergency and authorize all government agencies to take any actions necessary to “deal” with the regime.

Read Entire Article:

Following the propaganda the women referred to in the reports rebuked the corporate media propaganda pointing out they were athletes.

Press TV did a detailed reporting on the group pointing out how the reports had severely harmed their reputation and caused problems with their participation in activities and international competitions abroad.

Iran Female Ninja Outrage ‘We are athletes, not assassins’
Iranian female ninjas have rejected recent Western media report describing them as assassins, saying that they are training as regular athletes and martial artists.

The Iran’s female ninjas are lashing out after western media organizations ran repeated reports claiming they are assassins training to fight against the U.S. and Israel.

They say the reports originated after they allowed Reuters do a story on their training and Reuters took their comments out of context and then fed other news organizations sensationalized versions of their report.

[...]

Read Entire Article

Within a month later Reuters issued and apology and redacted their report but by then the story had already been spread across all corporate media outlets and the damage was done.

As a result Iran suspended Reuters.

Iran Suspends Reuters For False Report Woman Ninjas Were Assassins

[...]

Since then Reuters, who was the original source of the story has issued a redaction admitting the claims were sensationalized. The Female Ninjas also announced they were suing Reuters for defamation.

Iran Female Ninjas Suing Reuters For Defamation, Says Iranian State TV

A group of Iranian female martial artistshave hit out at Reuters over a report that allegedly described them as “assassins,” saying they are suing the media organization for defamation, Iran’s state television reported on Wednesday.

The Reuters report came out last month but does not appear to be available anywhere except in the form of a slideshow that does not mention the word assassins.

A Reuters representative told The Atlantic’s Max Fisher in an email today that “there was indeed an error in a Reuters video script that was promptly corrected.” However, Fisher and others have been unable to locate the video. Press TV’s selection of the claimed Reuters video, meanwhile, features a British narrator describing the Iranian female athletes as possibly “the West’s worst enemy” and “ninja assassins,” according to The Atlantic.

Press TV said Reuters responded to the group’s complaints about the “distorted” report by issuing corrections but came short of retracting the piece.

[....]

It’s proven hugely popular. A traditional Japanese martial art that often focuses on guerrilla techniques like espionage and camouflage, Ninjutsu is practiced by some three thousand women throughout Iran, according to the UPI news agency.

[...]

So it would seem. These women are not through with Reuters. They say damage has already been done and demand reparation.

Martial artist Raheleh Davoudzadeh told Press TV that the report “can harm our chances to travel to other countries to take part in global tournaments and international championships,” concerns possibly heightened by Saudi Arabia’s recent announcement that it will allow female athletes to represent them at the upcoming Olympics — an all-time first for the conservative Muslim nation.

[...]One female ninja, Khatereh Jalilzadeh, said the group is “taking legal action because the ladies that train in Ninjutsu first and foremost enjoy it as a sport,” explaining that it’s not political, it’s just “about working out and staying fit.”

The fact that Reuters is a British news organization and the ninja report was allegedly picked up by several other British media outlets, also plays into deep-seated Iranian animosity towards the country, where prejudices have been reinforced by years of political rhetoric denouncing “Britain’s imperialistic actions.”

But these women are angered by more recent history. Reuters “blatantly lied about us,” Jalilzadeh told Press TV.

[...]

Source:The Huffington Post

In the latest development in the sage, Iran has officially banned Reuters.

Iran suspends Reuters over manipulated report on female ninjas
Iran has suspended press activities of Reuters in Tehran after the news agency distorted a report on young Iranian women training in the Japanese martial arts, Ninjutsu.

Press TV- Mohammad Javad Aqajari, the Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance’s general manager for foreign media, told IRNA on Monday that the measure has been taken after Reuters manipulated a report on female Iranian athletes, introducing them as terrorists.“Some of these ladies are students or housewives and have chosen this sport simply on the basis of their personal interest,” he added.

The official said the Reuters report was titled “Thousands of female Ninjas train as Iran’s assassins,” which had very negative reverberations among other foreign media.

[...]

AFP adds more:

Iran suspends Reuters news bureau ‘indefinitely’

TEHRAN — The Tehran bureau of international news agency Reuters has been “suspended indefinitely” because of a report it issued mischaracterising Iranian female ninjas as “terrorists,” authorities said on Monday.

The head of the department in the culture and Islamic guidance ministry that monitors foreign media in Iran, Mohammad Javad Aghajari, announced the decision in a statement published by the official Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA).

Now Reuters has officially been convicted of propaganda by an Iranian court.

RT has more:

RT – A Reuters journalist has been convicted of “propaganda related offenses” by an Iranian media court. A jury found Tehran bureau chief Parisa Hafezi guilty of “spreading lies” in a video story about women training in martial arts.

The report contained a headline saying that Iranian women were studying to become ninja “assassins.” The story claimed the country was training more than 3,000 female ninjas to kill possible foreign invaders.

The young Iranian girls featured in the story are training in the art of Ninjutsu. They promptly filed defamation charges against Reuters after the report went viral on the internet.

The story’s headline, “Thousands of female Ninjas train as Iran’s assassins,” was corrected to read, “Three thousand women Ninjas train in Iran.”

Despite the correction, the bureau’s press accreditation was suspended last March. Reuters journalists have not been allowed to report inside Iran since then, Press TV reported.

Hafezi’s passport was confiscated in March, prohibiting her from traveling while the judge decides on a sentence. A ruling is expected in early October.

A jury member at the Tehran penal court said on Sunday that Reuters was also found guilty of propagating against the Islamic Republic, by “disseminating false information to disturb public opinion.”

Reuters has apologized for the error, but declined to comment on the case “until a decision is issued.”

Hafezi joined Reuters as a member of staff in 2003 and was appointed bureau chief in 2009.

She was one of four female journalists to be honored by the International Women’s Media Foundation at the 2011 Courage in Journalism Awards for risking her life to cover the news.

In the past, Hafezi has been targeted by Iran’s Revolutionary Guards, faced government interrogations, and been kidnapped as a result of her work, More magazine reported.

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