Israeli weapons In Libya? How @acarvin and his Twitter followers debunked sloppy journalism
When several news organizations posted stories claiming they had evidence of Israeli munitions being used in Libya, my Twitter followers and I investigated the claims and ultimately debunked them. Here's the story of how we did it and the evidence we found along the way.
- It all began on March 12, 2011 when I was at the SXSW Festival in Austin, Texas, participating in a session about social media and the Middle East, organized by the New York Times.
At the #socialfuel session with @brianstelter, @nyt_jenpreston, @jilliancyork, @antderosa, @habibh and company.- While sitting in the session, I received a tweet from @jan15egy asking me to look into something.
@acarvin pic of mortar in libya goo.gl/iaF9C could u get any info on manufacturer?- They ID it as Israeli. Maybe, maybe not. Need help to ID it. Anyone? RT @jan15egy: it's posted on Al Manara Press FB goo.gl/LMfeU
- The image was posted on the Facebook page for Al Manara, a popular Libyan expat news service based in the UK. Headlined "Israeli industry against the Libyan people," the photo shows what some type of mortar shell with what appears to be a Star Of David on it, as well as some form of crescent-like symbol. Al Manara assumed the Star Of David meant it was manufactured by Israel, and claimed as such in the headline.
The whole thing struck me as very odd, so I asked my Twitter followers to help me investigate it: - For argument's sake, let's say Israel sold mortars to Libya. Would they be so dumb as to put a star of david on them? on.fb.me/dTpmVs
- Israeli 81mm rounds don't appear to have that logo on it; at least not from this company: bit.ly/etwJtR
- While I started some Google searches of my own, I began to receive replies from people with their own research in a matter of minutes.
M-97 – Extended range HE BombSoltam Systems, owned by the Israeli company Elbit Systems has earned its world recognition as a one stop shop for artillery products with its high quality design and manufacturing, precision engineering and strict conformity to design specifications and contract requirements. The company has been active since 1952 and is the major supplier for the Israeli army (IDF) and other armies’ world wide covering more then 50 countries. The “All Under One Roof” philosophy brings research and developm...
- Then someone commented on what I thought was a crescent in the original photo:
- You're right, it does. RT @HarisAlisic: Actually it's not a crescent if u look again. More like a wave or umbrella bit.ly/gNw7Dp
You're right, it does. RT @HarisAlisic: Actually it's not a crescent if u look again. More like a wave or umbrella http://bit.ly/gNw7Dp
Andy Carvin
acarvinYou're right, it does. RT @HarisAlisic: Actually it's not a crescent if u look again. More like a wave or umbrella http://bit.ly/gNw7Dp
Andy Carvin
acarvin- @HarisAlisic Do wonder what the Star of David and crescent signify? Seems like an odd combo.
- At this point, we began to make some progress regarding what those symbols meant.
@acarvin it's a parachute... illum uses parachute to keep airborne longer... Likely not a company logo but a graphic to describe what it is
Jason Hansman
jasonhansman
.JPG&resize=1&w=490)
