AP: Credibility On The Line - Malkin to Iraq?

Tags: Eason Jordan, Michelle Malkin, Iraq, Pajamas Media, Associated Press, Citizen Journalism

Push has finally come to shove. Some bloggers have accused Mainstream Media's Associated Press of fabricating people and events surrounding news stories.

"Who is Jamil Hussein?" is becoming the new "Who is John Galt?"--a blogospheric refrain that both summarizes and challenges MSM apathy about its questionable war reporting.

The AP is in the midst of a public firestorm regarding whether supposed Iraqi police captain Jamil Hussein actually exists and, if so, whether he was a legitimate news source for a disputed November 24 AP-reported story saying Shia thugs in Baghdad "grabbed six Sunnis as they left Friday worship services, doused them with kerosene and burned them alive near Iraqi soldiers who did not intervene." The U.S. military, the Iraqi government, and many others insisted the AP story was false and that Jamil Hussein either was fictitious or was not an Iraqi police officer, as asserted in the AP's report. The AP has issued two strong statements defending its initial report and produced fresh statements from witnesses of the alleged crime, but the AP has not produced Jamil Hussein himself.

Michelle Malkin has been right on the front lines of the bloggers vs. AP battle. MM today blogs that she's been invited by former CNN head Eason Jordan to tag along on a trip to IRAQ to clear the AP's name!

Eason Jordan reports on his new website, Iraqslogger, that his team is in Baghdad looking for Jamil Hussein. They have not found him yet--which is newsworthy in itself--and get this: He has offered to pay for me to join the search in Iraq and accompany me...

AP's reputation is clearly on the line. What better way to restore it than to have a journalist of Michelle Malkin's stature assist in clearing that reputation? Stay Tuned!

Background:
Real news vs. fake news in Iraq
AP vs. the "so-called blogosphere"
The media fog of war
The Associated (with terrorists) Press strikes again