Discussion
Journalists!
If the hostage release goes ahead tomorrow as expected, please don't forget to follow the Government Approved Editorial Guidelines.
Namely:
1. Israeli captives must always be described as "hostages".
Palestinian captives must always be described as "prisoners", even if they haven't been tried for, much less convicted of, any crimes.
1/
2. We need to know all about the Israeli captives. Please tell us their names, their ages, their hopes and dreams, their likes and dislikes.
Tell us just how much their friends and family missed them and how delighted they are to have them home again.
And show us pictures. We want to know what they looked like.
And if they don't look great, please make sure to tell us about how horribly mistreated they were by their captors.
We need to know that they are humans, just like you or me.
2/
3. You MUST NOT tell us any details of any individual Palestinian captives. DO NOT mention their names. No close up photos. Don't tell us anything about them. Don't tell us what any of their friends and family feel about any of this.
You can tell us how many of them there are, but no more details than that please.
And if they were mistreated in captivity, please do not tell us about it.
We must not start getting ideas about them being human beings too.
3/
Remember, you have an important part to play in shaping the narrative here.
You need to make sure we all believe that Israel are the Good Guys (so definitely no mention of #genocide) and the Palestinians are the Bad Guys.
Thank you for your attention in this matter.
4/4
Well done Sky News. I'm sure the government will be very proud of you for following their Editorial Guidelines so well.
https://news.sky.com/story/israel-says-first-seven-hostages-handed-to-red-cross-13448949
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