Saturday, March 22, 2008

The Liars Work for Washington Post

'The Post', as people in the region refers to the Washington Post, has a reputation in news reporting, (most recently) with habitual lying.

In the screen shot captured from the official website of the Washington Post, three components can be read by viewers: The article on the riots broke out in Lhasa, a picture showing police dispersing protesters with wooden sticks, and the caption of the picture: "Chinese police rounded up Tibetans in the Tibetan capital city of Lhasa".

The problem is that the "police" were waring a uniform never seen in China. For a few readers who actually know the nuances in the uniform, it's more than clear which direction the Fan is trying the spin the news towards.

Perhaps it's a typo, or honest mistake made in the middle night after an exhausting long day?

Disappointedly, it turned out this is a deliberate spinning of fact executed by the Washington Post, and specifically the case reporter, Maureen Fan. When approached by concerned readers regarding the mismatching of photos and the caption, Fan replied '..the photo CLEARLY says it was taken in Nepal....'. Is that a joke?

Mareen Fan is not a stranger in news media, having joined the Washington Post in 2004. Readers have seen worse in terms of information spinning in the name of journalism, but a blunt lie with no intention of covering up is still rare. What a disgrace to her parents, to her alta mater, to women journalists, and to the human being to have a lair like Maureen Fan. The Washington Post website says Fan is covering China events in Beijing. Based on what we have seen, what we have read, and what we have heard from Fan, Washington Post's news license should have been revoked.

Where did she get her degree in mass communication? Who was her adviser? Just curious.

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