The Associated Press has sparked outrage with a glowing tribute to Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, who was reportedly killed by Israeli forces on Friday. The article, penned by Bassem Mroue, described Nasrallah as “charismatic and shrewd,” and repeatedly referred to him as “fiery” in a piece that many have criticized as a fawning eulogy.
The article’s tone has been widely panned, particularly in light of Nasrallah’s long history of orchestrating attacks on Israeli civilians, including the recent targeting of the Druze Arab village of Majdal Shams, which resulted in the deaths of children playing soccer.
Despite Nasrallah’s well-documented history of terrorism, the AP’s article waited several paragraphs before acknowledging that Hezbollah is, in fact, a terrorist organization. This omission has led many to accuse the AP of having an anti-Israel bias, a charge that has been leveled against the outlet in the past.
The AP’s coverage of Nasrallah’s death has been contrasted with its treatment of conservative figures, including the late Sen. Jim Inhofe, who was remembered by the AP as a “defense hawk” who had called human-caused climate change a “hoax.” The differing tones have sparked accusations of bias and hypocrisy against the AP.
The controversy comes as Israel has been taking out Hezbollah terrorists using exploding pagers and walkie-talkies, a move that has been celebrated with memes but opposed by Israel’s enemies, including some members of the Squad and the United Nations.
