This time reporting from Ajdabiya, Libya, CBC correspondent Neil MacDonald filed a report about Libyan rebels rejecting ceasefire proposals presented by the African Union. In the April 11 CBC National report, MacDonald interviewed a Libyan civilian whose uncle had allegedly been gunned down by pro-Gaddafi soldiers. Holding up a bloody robe, the man speaks in Arabic, and MacDonald translates, “Does this look like a military uniform?”
As the man continues speaking in Arabic, MacDonald says in a voiceover:
“‘Gaddafi is like the Israelis,’ says (the Libyan civilian), summoning the worst insult he can manage. ‘He kills whomever he likes.'”
And there you have it. In a report about “The Battle for Libya,” MacDonald gratuitously introduced Israel into a story that it had nothing to do with. Adding insult to injury, he exposed viewers to the malicious implication that like Gaddafi, ‘Israel kills whomever it likes” – in other words, like Gaddafi, it commits war crimes by targeting innocent civilians at will.
Sassy Wire 