Most student protesters have sought to distance themselves from Hamas. But an activist group has ties to old groups that funded the organization.

On Day 7 of the pro-Palestinian protests on the Columbia University campus, Osama Abuirshaid stopped by the student encampment.

The executive director of American Muslims for Palestine walked through the tent city, then made a fiery speech to the gathered crowd.

“This is not only a genocide that is being committed in Gaza,” Abuirshaid said. “This is also a war on us here in America.”

Forty-eight hours later, Abuirshaid appeared at another campus — George Washington University in Washington, D.C., where he delivered another speech.

  • SwingingTheLampEnglish
    111·
    1 month ago

    “Ties” and “links” are favorite weasel words of media manipulation. They’re factual and imply causality without stating it so they’re not technically wrong. Like, “Schools linked to school shootings”.

    • DolphinMath@slrpnk.netOPEnglish
      36·
      1 month ago

      From the article.

      From 2002 to 2004, Abuirshaid ran the internal newspaper for a pro-Palestinian media organization called Islamic Association for Palestine. The group’s sister fundraising organization, the Holy Land Foundation was designated a terror group in 2001, investigated by the FBI and indicted by the Department of Justice. Ultimately, the foundation’s leaders went to prison for supporting terrorists, and a federal judge later found both groups responsible for funding Hamas.

      Running the newspaper for a group funding Hamas. Sounds like he’s connected to me.

      • SwingingTheLampEnglish
        81·
        1 month ago

        “Connected.” Another weasel word. A genealogy web site that I use can tell me how I’m “connected” to King Charles. (At least 32 degrees of separation, including through many marriages.) What are the specific allegations here?

          • SwingingTheLampEnglish
            51·
            1 month ago

            And Charles was the Prince of Wales before he took the throne. Is that just an interesting factoid, or are we supposed to infer something from it?

              • SwingingTheLampEnglish
                31·
                1 month ago

                Exactly. Those are weasel words, designed to lead the reader to infer things, warranted or not.

                • DolphinMath@slrpnk.netOPEnglish
                  14·
                  1 month ago

                  Definitely can’t write things where the reader might infer things. That would be outrageous and uncouth!

                  • SwingingTheLampEnglish
                    21·
                    1 month ago

                    Correct. If journalists know something as a fact, they should state it, and share the source of that fact. If they don’t know something, but have a guess, they can say that it’s their own inference.

                    But to use weasel words to lead the reader to infer things that are not factually supported is, well, not a good look.