CNN's coverage of the Middle East had been a continual bone of contention since the September 2000 outbreak of Palestinian violence against Israelis. HonestReporting maintained the pressure on the cable news station, highlighting inaccuracies, bias and lack of objectivity. Finally, as the Jerusalem Post reported in June 2002, the efforts of HonestReporting's readers paid off:

HonestReporting.com readers sent up to 6,000 e-mails a day to CNN executives, effectively paralyzing their internal e-mail system. The consultant, who was present at several meetings with watchdog groups initiated by CNN, says the top CNN executives had, until then, failed to appreciate the strength of public feeling on the issue.

"At the beginning," says the consultant, "the executives didn't believe there was a problem, mostly out of ignorance of what was going on [in the field]. They were not aware of how often the big lie [that 500 Palestinians died in Jenin in April] was spread by Palestinian spokesmen, and seemed shocked when we told them there were 30 cases in 10 days. They were not watching this narrow little part of CNN's operation – they have to watch what's going on in a massive empire, and suddenly this corner started biting them in the backside."

CNN's public relations difficulties and HonestReporting's role in addressing media bias was also highlighted in the New York Times. HonestReporting was invited to enter into dialogue with executives at CNN's Atlanta headquarters, who demonstrated a genuine sensitivity to HonestReporting's concerns.

While we remain vigilant regarding CNN's coverage, the network certainly made efforts to improve its reporting – a direct result of HonestReporting's work and the activism of its thousands of readers.

As well as holding the media accountable, one of HonestReporting's most important goals is to educate not only its own readers but also the journalists themselves about the issues surrounding the Mideast conflict. It is gratifying, therefore, when writers acknowledge their errors and learn from them as Sandy Wold did in May 2005:

Ithaca Journal contributor Wold used her May 8 column to berate 'Zionist Jews' for 'terrorist attacks' and 'slaughter of Palestinians'. This prompted a communique from HonestReporting, whose subscribers followed up with large numbers of e-mails.

In response, Wold found it necessary to apologise for her original article, sending this to HonestReporting subscribers:

As you probably know, I have received dozens of emails from members of your organisation from all over the country and the U.K. in the past few days...

Having read your emails and having spoken with many Jewish friends of mine, who have lived in Israel, were born in Israel, and/or know a lot more about the Israeli/Palestinian conflict than I do, I have learned much and better understand why you all are so upset with me.

I sincerely apologise for my lack of sensitivity to and inclusiveness of your group's perspective and experience in my article.

Wold's admission that she was previously uninformed on the realities of the conflict underscores the vital need to educate on these important issues – something that HonestReporting continues to do with its various activities.

A cornerstone of HonestReporting's 2003 Dishonest Reporting 'Award' was Reuters' attempt to legitimise Hamas by falsely describing their goal as the 'pursuit of independence'. For example:

The military wing of the Islamic militant group Hamas claimed responsibility for the attack in a statement faxed to Reuters. Hamas has spearheaded a 28-month-old Palestinian militant uprising against Israel for a state in Gaza and the West Bank. (Feb. 15, 2003 – emphasis added)

Hamas makes it perfectly clear in their official charter and at speaking events that their goal is the destruction of the State of Israel – not merely an independent Palestinian state – yet the highly influential Reuters persisted in this charade, regularly casting Hamas as 'freedom fighters'.

The thousands of emails that HonestReporting subscribers directed to Reuters at the end of 2003 started to pay off – Reuters fundamentally improved the way they described Hamas in news reports:

• Toward the end of 2003, Reuters began indicating that Hamas' idea of 'independence' includes the complete destruction of Israel:
  
  Hamas, sworn to Israel's destruction, has led a suicide bombing campaign during the three-year-old Palestinian uprising for independence. (Dec. 15, "Israel Remands Arab-Canadian in Alleged Bomb Plot")

• And by January 26, Reuters was describing Hamas in no uncertain terms – "a faction sworn to destroy Israel," adding:
  
  Hamas has led a suicide bombing campaign that has killed hundreds of Israelis during more than three years of violence. It has rejected peace talks and demanded that a Palestinian state be formed on all the land that was Palestine under the British mandate preceding the creation of Israel more than five decades ago.

Another important result for HonestReporter’s dedicated subscribers.

Utilising the activism and dedication of its subscribers around the world, HonestReporting is able to have an impact far beyond the confines of national and international media outlets. The global community of HonestReporting's readership can be a powerful force in locales where media bias and inaccuracy has previously slipped beneath the radar, as one Irish magazine found out:

In December 2005, The Dubliner, which claims to be a "cultural magazine", published an opinion piece by a former Irish politician that not only disputed Israel's right to exist but also denigrated Jewish history and culture at the same time.

In response, HonestReporting published a communique highlighting and debunking many of the historical distortions and inaccuracies contained within the piece. Having supplied the tools for effectively countering the false arguments of The Dubliner's op-ed, HonestReporting encouraged its subscribers to send comments to the magazine's editor. Within only a few days, the magazine, which claims a monthly readership of 10,000, was swamped by over 2000 e-mails from concerned and outraged HonestReporting readers from around the world.

The resulting outcry forced the issue of Irish anti-Semitism into the open, with intervention by Ireland's Chief Rabbi and a panel debate on RTE, Ireland's state television broadcaster, as well as coverage in the Jewish press, including the Jewish Telegraph (UK), Jewish Telegraphic Agency and European Jewish Press, all three recognising the key role played by HonestReporting in prompting effective action against The Dubliner.

By forcing The Dubliner's editor and the author of the offensive opinion piece to publicly defend themselves, HonestReporting succeeded in ensuring that even a relatively small magazine should be held to the same standards of accountability and professionalism expected of larger and more visible media outlets.