It’s less trustworthy as a source because they’re using loaded terms in the article. The headline calls it a “sick video”, labels it as “propagandist”. Those are terms intended to provoke a reaction: ‘sick’ is an attempt to prime your reaction if you watch the video, ‘propagandistic’ is intended to make you distrust the intent behind the video.
An impartial journalist would’ve used different language or added sources. If I was writing the article, I would’ve called it a ‘new video’ or perhaps a ‘newly-released video’. I wouldn’t have used ‘propagandistic’ at all; the speculation on the intent behind it is adequately covered a few paragraphs later. If you were intent on calling it propagandistic, that wording should be credited to a specific person, preferably an Israeli government spokesperson or a high-ranking official.
Using loaded words should only ever be done in clearly labeled opinion columns or letters to the editor (although honestly, I’m against their presence even there); if used in a news article, they should only be used when quoting a person.
Objectively, I know that loaded words are going to be impossible to avoid: even describing someone as a ‘Hamas fighter’ vs a ‘Hamas terrorist’ is fraught, and don’t get me started on why civilians held by Hamas are ‘hostages’ while civilians held by Israel are ‘prisoners’. But simple, obvious terms designed to tell the reader how to feel about the news should absolutely be avoided.
It’s less trustworthy as a source because they’re using loaded terms in the article. The headline calls it a “sick video”, labels it as “propagandist”. Those are terms intended to provoke a reaction: ‘sick’ is an attempt to prime your reaction if you watch the video, ‘propagandistic’ is intended to make you distrust the intent behind the video.
An impartial journalist would’ve used different language or added sources. If I was writing the article, I would’ve called it a ‘new video’ or perhaps a ‘newly-released video’. I wouldn’t have used ‘propagandistic’ at all; the speculation on the intent behind it is adequately covered a few paragraphs later. If you were intent on calling it propagandistic, that wording should be credited to a specific person, preferably an Israeli government spokesperson or a high-ranking official.
Using loaded words should only ever be done in clearly labeled opinion columns or letters to the editor (although honestly, I’m against their presence even there); if used in a news article, they should only be used when quoting a person.
Objectively, I know that loaded words are going to be impossible to avoid: even describing someone as a ‘Hamas fighter’ vs a ‘Hamas terrorist’ is fraught, and don’t get me started on why civilians held by Hamas are ‘hostages’ while civilians held by Israel are ‘prisoners’. But simple, obvious terms designed to tell the reader how to feel about the news should absolutely be avoided.