Oded Menashe's message to Channel 12 after they spread fake news
During the program "Israel HaBoker", presenter Oded Menashe addressed the criticism directed at Channel 14 following an identification error. Menashe noted that Channel 14 apologized for the incident and pointed out a similar mistake by Channel 12, which has yet to issue an apology.
During the program "Israel HaBoker", presenter Oded Menashe addressed the criticism directed at Channel 14 following an incident where a woman was mistakenly presented as a former Chief Military Prosecutor. Menashe recalled that Channel 14 apologized for the incident and mentioned that he had encountered claims that such errors only occur on Channel 14, and not in other media outlets.
"They approached me and said: 'Look at what your channel did, how it made a mistake'," Menashe said. "I replied: 'We apologized; this can happen to any channel, as mistakes are human.'" According to him, the response was: "'No! That would not have happened to Channel 12.'"
However, shortly thereafter, Channel 12 News broadcast an investigation regarding positions at the JNF (Keren Kayemeth LeIsrael), during which a photo of YASAM fighter Eli Elikashvili (of blessed memory), who died in a car accident on Highway 89, was presented as the photo of Shahar Maimon, who was mentioned in the investigation. Thus, the photo of the fallen fighter was linked to an affair with which he had no connection.
"The picture they show of Shahar Maimon is not his at all," Menashe said. "It is of Eli Elikashvili, a YASAM Galilee policeman who died in a car accident. They show him, even though he has no connection to the JNF. He is just a poor guy who died, and a blessed policeman."
Elikashvili's mother, Lea, reacted with pain: "Suddenly I started receiving screenshots of a negative article talking about my dear and holy son, who is not related to this story! Seeing my son in such a negative context is very difficult. The damage has already been done."
Menashe criticized the fact that, as of the broadcast, no apology had been published by Channel 12 News. "This is the channel that claims it never makes mistakes and that they are serious people. We apologized for our mistake, but Channel 12 has not yet done so," he said.
Panelist Maxim Oknin emphasized that gloating between media outlets is inappropriate: "Did you make a mistake? Correct it immediately and apologize. Using the photo of a deceased person in this context is terrible."
Prof. Asher Cohen added: "A mistake can become a big headline that influences the whole day, while the correction is buried on page 17. People are left with the headline, and that is what needs to be fixed."
Menashe concluded by calling on Channel 12 News to publish an apology: "Let's ask them for at least a small line. This incident shows that we shouldn't focus on the flaws of others, but on our own. Every channel has its own business."
