IT’S ALL SMOKE AND MIRRORS: Hamas Busted on Yesterday’s Hostage Release Tape, Makes Sure There’s No Audio on Today’s.

The only reason they get away with so much is that the press is largely complicit.

UPDATE: See, e.g., Reuters:

Reuters knows that the hostages being released by Hamas aren’t soldiers (neither are the terrorists Hamas is getting), but they casually drop the term into their headline to fundamentally alter your perception of what is happening. A POW exchange is a lot different than the negotiated release of people held hostage for 50 days–women and children who have nothing to do with the war except by being victims of evil terrorists.

Using “soldiers” was a conscious choice. Reuters knew who was being released, knew their circumstances, knew how they were captured, and knew that they weren’t “released” but ransomed. They framed the story to manipulate the audience.

People weren’t fooled, except those who wanted to be. They received so much criticism that they deleted the headline and issued a non-apology apology, but this was not a mistake made in the fog of war. All the facts are established and well-understood. Reuters just chose to lie.

As they so frequently do. And to be clear, this isn’t a good-faith difference in perception, but a deliberate effort to deceive.