The Amazing Power Of News Magazines To Read The Minds Of Israelis

First it was Time Magazine which told you exactly how Israel felt about peace:

To be fair, Karl Vick did not read minds--he just spoke to some real estate agents and extrapolated from there.

In any case, now come Newsweek with its headline:

Avigdor Liberman

Israel’s most popular politician right now is a burly cigar smoker who wants to redraw its borders to exclude most Arabs. What is the far-right foreign minister thinking?

I'm sure it is just modesty that prevents them from telling you exactly what he is thinking. Instead, Newsweek goes through the formality of actually conducting an interview.

They merely read the minds of Israelis to tell you that Avigdor Lieberman is Israel's most popular politician.

And how do they know that?
They don't.

Shmuel Rosner points out that apparently Newsweek just made up Avigdor Lieberman's popularity:

Israel's "most popular politician"?
It is not easy to decide: Is it mare ignorance - or is it intentional malice? Do they not know the facts - or is it a way for someone to denigrate Israel? We report - you decide. And it will be short. Newsweek headline:

Israel’s most popular politician right now is a burly cigar smoker who wants to redraw its borders to exclude most Arabs.

In short: A Newsweek writer, or his editors, would like you to believe that Avigdor Lieberman is the most popular Israeli politician. Do they have any proof? Do they even need one? Here's a poll from Dec. 6 (Hebrew). Kadima with 32, Likud with 28, Israel Beiteinu with 18. So Lieberman's party isn't the most popular. Here's a poll from October (Hebrew, again): 34% satisfied with Lieberman - 54% aren't satisfied with him.

Must be those darn real estate agents again!

Technorati Tag: Media Bias and Newsweek.