5d ago

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How about those t-shirts IDF were wearing more than a decade ago?
The Hannibal Directive
- This claim about the t-shirts seems so outrageous that I had to look into it to see if there was more there. Looking into it further I found the article you screen shot from CBS news March 23, 2009, as well as an identical copy on NBC news for the same day. Neither article had a credited author, but the CBS article referenced a Haaretz Daily link (seen in your screen shot) and the NBC article referenced the Associate Press, neither website still hosts such an article.
  So next I turned to the Wayback Machine where I was able to find the Haaretz article, but not the Associated Press article.
  The Haaretz article amounts to some of the worst journalistic documentation I've ever seen. There's one picture of a shirt which the journalist claims was ordered by a soldier and the identities of everyone involved have been kept anonymous. From a young arab man who supervises the making of the shirts to a Givati soldier, the only source for all of this is Uri Blau who wrote the article.
  Alongside this I found an Al Jazeera video where they followed up on the same story where they show a catalogue with the same image used in Uri Blau's article which claims that the shirts were ordered by soldiers. In the video they say they visited the shop but the owner refused to explain the shirts and were told to leave by police.
  April 1, 2009, Uri Blau posted another article referencing himself and stating that the IDF now bans soldiers from wearing such shirts even on private time, but again provides no sources or pictures.
  Honestly, this could all be true, but it's so fucking sloppy that for all we know Uri Blau made up all of this because there is no substantial proof. It's the journalistic professionalism of a tabloid.
  What makes it worse is that because this slop has been out in the public long enough it's existence is actually referenced as proof. "Oh, there was an article written about this 10 years ago so this definitely happened," but the original article itself wasn't proof?
  Here is an example on reddit where the OP shared the picture and story a few months ago. When asked for sources they shared a Huffpost and NBC article as separate sources which are both identical and reference the original Haaretz article.
  
  bruh the second article i found on duckduckgo is about the Israeli government punishing the soldiers who did it
  troll harder kiddo
  Israel’s military condemned its soldiers for wearing T-shirts of a pregnant woman in a rifle’s cross-hairs with the slogan “1 Shot 2 Kills,” and another of a gun-toting child with the words, “The smaller they are, the harder it is.”
  “i googled this and found several mainstream sources acknowledging the pretty well regarded accounts by the the fairly well reguarded Haretz but am going to just throw a bunch of vague ad home without linking or quoting the actual article, just impugning it’s validity without any real argument because i’m a lazy 5 day old troll account”
  The BBC
  Israeli officials have described as "tasteless" and "tasteless" and inconsistent with army values a popular military pastime of printing violent cartoons on T-shirts.
  An investigation in Haaretz daily says the customised shirts are often ordered when troops finish training courses.
  One example shows a pregnant Arab women in the cross-hairs of a sniper's sight with the legend "1 shot 2 kills".
  Another design shows a child being similarly targeted with the slogan "the smaller they are, the harder it is".
  In both images the people being targeted appear to be carrying weapons. A third T-shirt design shows a dead Palestinian baby and the words "Better use Durex" (condoms).
  An army statement said the customised clothing was produced outside military auspices, but it pledged to stamp out the use of such imagery by soldiers.
  "The examples presented by the Haaretz reporter are not in accordance with IDF values and are simply tasteless," the military statement said.
  "This type of humour is unbecoming and should be condemned."
  But it admitted that until now there were no military guidelines governing "acceptable civilian clothing" made by its soldiers.
  [Here’s how wiki characterizes Hareetz, btw (imma put as much effort into the format as you are into your trolling](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haaretz:
  Haaretz (Hebrew: הָאָרֶץ, lit. 'The Land [of Israel]'; originally Ḥadshot Haaretz – Hebrew: חַדְשׁוֹת הָאָרֶץ, IPA: [χadˈʃot haˈʔaʁets], lit. 'News of the Land [of Israel]') is an Israeli newspaper. It was founded in 1918, making it the longest running newspaper currently in print in Israel. The paper is published in Hebrew and English in the Berliner format, and is also available online. In North America, it is published as a weekly newspaper, combining articles from the Friday edition with a roundup from the rest of the week. Haaretz is Israel's newspaper of record.[4][5] It is known for its left-wing and liberal stances on domestic and foreign issues.[6]
  
  First off, my account is new because my previous instance is shutting down and I had to make a new one.
  Second, this is the same slop. The article you shared is a near exact quote of the NBC, Huffpost, and CBS article. The only thing is adds is that it says,
  "The army said it would not tolerate the T-shirts and would take disciplinary action against the soldiers involved, although it was not clear how many wore the shirts or how widely they were distributed."
  This was published March 24, 2009, a day after the original article was published online. After that statement it then refers back to the Haaretz article and then adds quoted commentary from a Hamas spokesperson.
  I doubt the IDF could search the homes of every soldier within 24 hours so this comment by the IDF sounds like a reaction to the article, not that anyone was found with the shirts. Like I said before, I researched this and found no substantial evidence, if you have some then please share it.
  EDIT: you sharing the same articles referencing and copying each other is like this video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ksb3KD6DfSI
  EDIT 2: The second article, the BBC one is an almost exact rip of the original Haaretz article.
  
  IDF top that reads 'Think you were raped? End of course, Shaked, August '12.'Credit: Shachar Atwan
  
  This is a bit better, but it's still coming from Haaretz and the person they referenced most, Professor Orna Sasson-Levy, is the same person Al Jazeera interviewed in 2009 so it's still fairly self referential. It's the same people saying the same thing over and over again.
  This article does provide pictures of drawings and a picture of a shirt being worn, but it hardly makes a firm connection to soldiers.
  The article also says, "As Danny Kaplan of the Gender Studies program at Bar-Ilan University sees it, the regular appearance in recent years of the crude T-shirts has raised doubts about the fitness of the army to rein in the phenomenon." If this is such a regular occurrence why is it so hard to provide pictures of people wearing them and associating it to the IDF?
  To make things even more weird the article says, "The sexist shirts also turn up in unexpected places. “What’s amazing is that you see them on the street on foreign workers and even on Palestinians,” says Ofer Nordheimer Nur of the Women’s and Gender Studies program at Tel Aviv University. “You see all kinds of shirts with slogans such as ‘I’m in Golani’ or with semi-amusing slogans, which may have been bought at a second-hand shop or just picked up off the street. Even in Gaza, you can see shirts like these.”"
  So apparently these shirts are so common place that Palestinians in Gaza are wearing them, but they're definitely coming from soldiers custom ordering them?
  Applying some critical thinking some questions have to be asked. Why is it the same media outlet that is generating this and no one else? Why are the commenters the same people even 8 years later? Why is it that we can get pictures of the drawings but barely any of people wearing the shirts? How is it that the shirts are custom ordered, but also so common that they are everywhere? Why is it that Palestinians in Gaza have them? Does this not raise questions for you?
  
  [W]hen true scientists ask a question, they want an answer and will give due consideration to any possibilities. Deniers, on the other hand, will ask the same undermining questions over and over, long after they have been definitively answered. The questions—used to cast doubt—are all they are interested in, not the process of discovery they're meant to inspire.
  
  Never heard "JAQing off" before, that's good
  
  No, no, no. You can't refute critical questions to the authenticity of possible propaganda just because it doesn't fit your narrative. I researched the article, the source, the commenters, the news outlet, and the journalists. I asked that you provide something more substantial than:
  -The same news outlet over and over again.
  -The same article over and over again.
  -The same few pictures over and over again.
  -The same commenters over and over again.
  None of what you have provided is substantial proof or evidence, it's just the same thing repeated over and over again. It's like Peter Navarro saying he learned everything he knows from Ron Vara, his fictional alter ego.
  At the end of the day what you are doing is an appeal to authority. You're saying that this news outlet said it so it must be true without looking at whether they provided substantial evidence in the first place.
  EDIT: At the end of the day we have only 2 news articles, 1 news outlet, no named sources (everyone is anonymous including the guy making the shirts), 2 journalists who reference themselves and each other, 2 pictures, and 3 commenters. There is no other original source for this that I have been able to find.
  
  Hareetz is the third largest newspaper in Israel, and is considered equivalent to our New York Times.
  If the New York Times put out an article on the US military wearing similar shirts and that was untrue, I imagine there would be some statement by the US military contradicting it.
  I’m sorry, you have nothing other than “this extremely prominent publication is lying and was never called out for it. Despite the fact that international media outlets like the BBC picked this up, at no point did the IDF deny it. This is totally logical.” Perhaps you could find a link of the Israeli military denying this? You don’t seem happy with any amount of sources, and aren’t providing anything your self.
  I’d also ask you to count the named sources in each article - I’m not sure if you have your counts right on the number of journalists - you might also notice that the picture I provided in my last comment also cites another individual. I’m sure you can find names if you spend less time JAQing off, and more time reading the sources you’ve demanded.
  
  Perhaps you could find a link of the Israeli military denying this? You don’t seem happy with any amount of sources, and aren’t providing anything your self.
  What do you mean I'm not providing anything? I've provided pages worth of research into the sources you provided and now you're saying I have to find other sources that prove you're wrong rather than you having to provide a good source that proves you're right? Are you sure you're not the one jerking it around here?
  If the New York Times put out an article on the US military wearing similar shirts and that was untrue, I imagine there would be some statement by the US military contradicting it.
  That's a really spurious argument, they didn't deny it so it must be true? Even then,
  If you want to make comparisons to the New York Times we can. Here is an article by the New York Times about Sexual Abuse of Teens in JROTC programs. In the article it provides an account by 2 different named victims along with calling out their public disclosures of the instructors that assaulted them before detailing how NYT investigated 150 public disclosure requests and found 33 instructors criminally charged. It goes on to say they interviewed 13 victims from the public disclosures and includes a map to support their stance that JROTC programs target high poverty schools. At the bottom of the article NYT includes a 4 paragraph description of the methodology used to undertake the investigation and frame their findings.
  I’d also ask you to count the named sources in each article - I’m not sure if you have your counts right on the number of journalists - you might also notice that the picture I provided in my last comment also cites another individual
  Lets go then,
  Article 1
  Published 3/20/2009
  Author Uri Blau
  Sources: Unnamed Arab Supervisor, Unnamed Givati Soldier, Evyatar Ben-Tzedef (commenting on nonoffensive shirts he saw in the 90's), Yossi Kaufman (commenting on non offensive shirts he saw in the 90's and says he has seen such shirts rarely), Orna Sasson-Levy (commenting on how graduation shirts of any kind are used to build moral and culture), Col. Ron Levy (talking about how graduation shirts build culture).
  Total sources that say they've seen offensive graduation shirts, 2 unnamed, Orna Sasson-Levy, and Yossi Kaufman.
  Video Report 1
  Published 3/23/2009
  No attributed reporter.
  Sources: Orna Sasson-Levy and one shirt available for purchase.
  Article 2
  Published 3/23/2009
  No attributed author
  Sources: Only references the earlier Haaretz article.
  Article 3
  Published 3/23/2009
  No attributed author
  Sources: Only references the earlier Haaretz article.
  Article 4
  Published 3/23/2009
  No attributed author
  Sources: The article lists the Associated Press as a source, but I could not find such article. All other references are for the earlier Haaretz article.
  Article 5
  Published 3/24/2009
  Author Matti Friedman
  Sources: There is a reference to "The Army" saying they wouldn't tolerate the shirts, they reference the earlier Haaretz article, and Fawzi Barhoum (Hamas Spokesperson). No sources listed saying they have seen said shirts.
  Article 6
  Published 4/1/2009
  Author Uri Blau
  Sources: None, he says "as exposed by Haaretz" in reference to his own other article and says that the IDF released a statement about not allowing soldiers to wear such a shirt, but doesn't link it.
  Article 7
  Published 1/2/2017
  Author Shachar Atwan
  Sources: Orna Sasson-Levy (commenting on the psychology of soldiers), Unnamed Female Soldier whom Oran Sasson-Levy says gave her story/information, Yoaz Hendel (commenting on the psychology of soldiers), Ofer Nordheimer Nur (commenting that the shirts show up in unexpected places), Danny Kaplan (commenting on the ramifications of such shirts on the implied fitness of the army), 2 pictures of drawings for supposed shirts and 1 picture of a shirt in the wild supplied by the Author.
  Total sources that say they've seen offensive graduation shirts: 1 unnamed female soldier as told by Orna Sasson-Levy, Presumably Orna Sasson-Levy herself, and presumably Ofer Nordheimer Nur (as he says they've been seen in Gaza).
  To summarize this we have: 7 articles and 1 video, 2 original authors and 1 who copied them (Uri Blau, Shachar Atwan, and Matti Friedman respectively), 3 mostly original reports (2 are by Uri), 6 news outlets but all the original reports came from Haaretz, 20 total sources (referenced people or articles) of which 8 are repeats (by my count), 2 pictures of designs for shirts, 2 pictures of shirts as displays for sale, and 1 picture of the shirts in the real world.
  Of the 11 unique people referenced across all of these articles only 6 say they have seen these shirts and 3 of them are anonymous or 3rd party retellings. It took 7 articles and a news report to get the same amount of information as a single NYT article.

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