2006 has been the year of the blogosphere revolution. "Citizen journalists" have offered a new and credible alternative to the mainstream media. Stories and photos, particularly from the Mideast, have been rexamined in real time by bloggers. Errors and bias have been spotted and commented on even before official government spokespeople have appeared in front of a TV camera to respond. In the case of particularly egregious errors, a critical mass has been reached, enabling the issue to jump across into the mainstream media itself.

The best example of this is the Reuters "Fauxtography" affair, where bloggers picked up on Dishonest Reporter of the Year winner Adnan Hajj's doctored photos from the Lebanon conflict. Reuters was eventually forced to apologize and fire Hajj - a story that was covered by a number of mainstream media outlets.

Recognizing HonestReporting's role in multiplying the effect of this internet revolution, HR's Joe Hyams addressed a conference entitled Media as Theater of War, the Blogosphere, and the Global Battle for Civil Society, part of the prestigious Annual Herzliya Conference on the Balance of Israel's National Security.

The conference was organized by Professor Richard Landes of The Second Draft, which comprehensively debunked the Mohammed al-Dura case and drew attention to the staged events of "Pallywood".

Hyams discussed the implications of the media's reporting of the Qana incident during the Lebanon war. The panel also included Israeli Foreign Ministry Spokesman Mark Regev, former advisor to PM Ariel Sharon Ra'anan Gissin, and former IDF Spokesman Nachman Shai.

Many bloggers were also represented at the conference, a number of whom can be found on HonestReporting's Links page. Don't forget that HonestReporting has its own Backspin blog where you can comment on many of the media issues of the day as well as respond to our regular communiques (including this one).

We are sure that 2007 will see a further expansion of the blogosphere's influence and HonestReporting intends to be at the forefront of the latest internet technology, such as podcasts and other technological initiatives.

NETUREI KARTA - NOT KOSHER

Despite being wholly unrepresentative of Ultra-Orthodox Judaism or the Jewish people in general, many of the images of the widely condemned Iranian Holocaust Denial conference featured members of the Neturei Karta sect. The conference featured an unsavory variety of Holocaust deniers and anti-Semites under the false guise of promoting "freedom of speech".

While some of the media may have given Neturei Karta unwarranted airtime and newspaper columns, the Jewish world has made it abundantly clear that this extreme fringe represents nobody but themselves.

The Satmar, the largest Ultra-Orthodox movement published an unprecedented statement calling on the public to disassociate themselves from those Neturei Karta who attended the Iranian conference, while Israeli Chief Rabbi Yonah Metzger also called for a boycott.

British Chief Rabbi Sir Jonathan Sacks also condemned Neturei Karta, saying:

"Lest those unfamiliar with Neturei Karta take it to represent a significant strand within Jewry, it should be made clear that it is an extremely small and unrepresentative sect whose views are rejected by the overwhelming majority of Jews, religious and secular alike."

HonestReporting urges subscribers to ensure that the media does not mislead the general public into thinking that Neturei Karta is the legitimate face of world Jewry despite this group's existence far beyond the accepted and recognized framework of the Jewish people. Neturei Karta is definitely not Kosher.