We are a few days before an election here in Israel, one which for months the right wing block have seemed like winning. The vast majority of our press are left wing.... many extremely so. If you were a reporter / editor would you use your pen / paper to try to 'spin' a win for your side?? That doesn't mean to come out in favour of one side or another, it means to manipulate news stories in attempts to either strengthen the left or weaken the right. I believe Israels press is severly tainted, and as I do not really have a horse in the meretz/labour/kadmia/likud/lieberman/religious block political race, I tend to be able to see transparent attempts at manipulating votes. 1. The "don't back a loser" method this one obviously wants to paint the likud the falling star. סקר גלובס: הליכוד צונח ב-14 מנדטים בחמישה שבועות נתניהו לא יאהב לראות את נתוני סקר המנדטים הזה. - TRANSLATION "Globes poll - likud support dives 14 seats in 5 weeks" http://www.mako.co.il/news/elections-2009/polls/Articles/itemId=eaf79be21fc3f110VgnVCM100000290c10acRCRD 2. "don't give up method" - this one wants to make sure voters return to kadima to vote, painting kadima as the comeback kid. עוד 4 ימים לבחירות והכל פתוח עיתוני סוף השבוע מפרסמים הבוקר את הסקרים השונים לקראת הבחירות שיתקיימו בעוד ארבעה ימים ועל פי התמונה שמסתמנת ניתן להגיד שהכל פתוח. "הארץ" ו "ידיעות אחרונות" מצביעים על יתרון של 2 מנדטים למפלגת הליכוד ועיתון "מעריב" מראה על יתרון של 3 מנדטים לבנימין נתניהו והליכוד .TRANSLATION - 4 Days to go and everything is open. Looking at the newspapers from the final weekend before the lection and it is safe to say- everything is open. Haaretz, Yediot show only 2 mandates now seperate the parties, whilst Maariv shows only 3 http://www.mako.co.il/news/elections-2009/polls/Articles/itemId=20d49ae6c684f110VgnVCM100000290c10acRCRD 3. The monster is bigger than it is method - this one needs to mobilise support for the left, by exaggerating support for the monster in the closet With 18 or 19 Knesset seats, Lieberman will be a decisive factor in determining the shape of the next government. It is reasonable to assume that he will link up with Netanyahu http://www.haaretz.co.il/hasen/spages/1061974.html 4. The "its okay if you switch method" along with the "your horse can stil win vote". This one works by suggesting 20 percent or so of the electorate are undecided and this is odd (terry tried this in a thread the other day, and I gave links to reports from both the last 2 elections to show the undecided figure was even higher then). They call this an unprecented number (well unprecendeted since the last election anyway) and suggest the majority of these will go to kadima. This also works on those that want to side with the winner, or those that switched to likud but are not completely sure and can be convinced to swtich back. מבין 28% מהציבור שטרם החליטו למי להצביע, TRANSLATION 28% of the voters still undecided Showing the majority of undecided are undecided between the two centre left parties (so in either case their vote does not go to the right) http://www.mako.co.il/news/elections-2009/polls/Articles/itemId=520c0b31ea04f110VgnVCM100000290c10acRCRD 5. The "the world is going to end if bibi wins" scenario. This is another one that terry tried recently linking to an article showing how the whole region would explode if bibi won. I simply linked to an article trying exactly the same trick they used prior to sharon winning. When sharon won for the first time, the papers were full of how the whole region would explode. Sheer scaremongering, telling an electorate a vote for bibi is a vote for war. It is kadima not the likud that has led israel into the latest two wars Netanyahu would offer something else. First, he is a faithful representative of an authentic "Israeli" view - an almost complete distrust of Arabs and the chance of reaching peace with them, mixed with condescension and dehumanization. Second, he will finally arouse the world's rage towards us, including that of the new U.S. administration. Sadly, this may be the only chance for the kind of dramatic change that is needed. http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1061736.html here is a link to the one they tried with sharon On the second day, the ad suggested, he'd bring radical right wingers into his coalition; day 4, he'd cancel the Oslo peace agreement and spark unprecedented violence; and after two weeks Ariel Sharon would invade Gaza and Palestinian West Bank cities to pictures of marching troops and tanks rolling into position. The ad suggests that by the third week, Egypt and Jordan would cancel their treaties with Israel and Arab armies would mobilise along the border. The ad closes with scenes of gas masks being handed out to Israeli civilians. http://www.abc.net.au/am/stories/s241962.htm 6. The really cyncical "we'll have shalit back before tuesday method". The one event that could really swing all this is shalit. And whilst he has sat forgotten for 3 years, and the government have been unable to prise him from tthe messianic hamas grasp - all of a sudden he is in the headlines everyday. And now of course he may well be released well....on the day of the election. Not only if this comes off will this swing the election, it must surely temper the anger of those voting against the centre left in anger for them having forgotten shalit. Either way it works. Report: Shalit deal may be reached by Tuesday Turkish news channel CNN Turk reported on Friday that a deal to secure the release of abducted Israel Defense Forces soldier Gilad Shalit may be reached by Tuesday http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1062222.html So what would you do. If you wanted meretz or hadash to do well or sit in government would you use your paper or pen to manipulate voters?????

* Dave   08/02/09 | 09:20

בזמן האחרון הסקרים אינם משקפים את המציאות ויש סטיות גדולות . אני מאמין שמפלגת העבודה עוד תפתיע וברק הוא זה שירכיב את הממשלה ואני אומר לביבי וללבני תפסיקו לזלזל בברק ולהציע לו תפקידים כי הוא לא צריך אותכם ואת התפקידים שלכם ניפגש אחרי הבחירות והוא זה שיציע לכם תפקידים במידה ואתם ראויים להם.

* אזרח ישראלי   08/02/09 | 08:03

יופיטרה   08/02/09 | 06:35

יופיטרה   08/02/09 | 06:08