Networks Skirt Mentioning Islamism in Machete Attack Coverage

Matthew Balan | February 12, 2016
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[More in the cross-post on the MRC's NewsBusters blog.]

ABC, CBS, NBC's evening newscasts on 12 February 2016 all failed to mention Islamism as a possible motive in their coverage of the machete attack inside an Ohio restaurant on Thursday. ABC's World News Tonight didn't even use the word "terrorism" during their report on Mohamed Barry's rampage. Alex Perez merely noted that "Barry was known to the FBI, but was not under a full-scale investigation." CBS's Jeff Pegues underlined that "police say the assault has the hallmarks of a terrorism-inspired attack." Pegues was also the only Big Three correspondent to report that Barry was "here in the U.S. on a green card."

All three programs noted that the restaurant owner's Israeli background. However, NBC's Pete Williams was the only one to specify that "the owner...is from Israel — a Christian Arab. Investigators are looking at whether Barry may have mistakenly thought he was Jewish." Williams also revealed that "radical comments by him [Barry] four years ago brought a brief look from the FBI, which then moved on."

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