Elder gets results! CNN retracts accusation on air (UPDATE)

I just heard CNN retract the story that falsely claimed that an Israeli bomb had killed Mahmoud Sadallah, the child cynically used for a  photo-op with Egyptian PM Kandil and Hamas terrorist leader Ismail Haniyeh.

The correction was aired on the Don Lemon program. (Lemon has not been very friendly towards the Israeli narrative from what I can tell).

I had noticed the error yesterday and my research has since been noted in numerous media outlets and websites.

The post went viral with some 16,000 hits so far.

The CNN story is still online, however, without any correction as of yet. Neither has the reporter, Sara Sidner, commented about it on her Twitter timeline, although she has not updated it at all since the story.

As far as I know, the Daily Mirror has not issued a correction.

Earlier, Reuters likewise issued a correction for the many photo captions they had that falsely accused Israel.

Let's hope that the media will be more attuned to the fact that Hamas is endangering the lives of Gazans, not only by using them as human shields but also more directly by exposing them to literally hundreds of rockets that fall short - some 20-30% by some estimates. The knee-jerk assumption that every civilian death in Gaza is the result of an Israeli airstrike will hopefully be significantly impacted by this.

Thanks to all who pushed this story on Facebook and Twitter!

UPDATE: CNN's online retraction is as watered down as possible, buried in the middle of an article:

Israel also said Sunday that it was not to blame for the death of a Palestinian child last week -- a 4-year-old boy whose lifeless body was kissed by Egyptian Prime Minister Hesham Kandil during his visit to a Gaza hospital Friday.

CNN visited the child's home, which neighbors said had been bombed five hours previously. Neighbors and family members told CNN they heard an aircraft before the explosion.

But the Israeli military told CNN on Sunday it did not carry out any airstrikes at the time of the child's death. The IDF said had stopped its attacks for Kandil's visit, raising questions about what caused the fatal blast. One possibility could be the misfire of a Hamas rocket intended for Israel, since CNN's crew in Gaza said it saw two such rockets passing overhead -- apparently fired not far from where the boy lived.

CNN here does not admit that they reported the accusation as fact and still pretends that there is still a good chance that the child and neighbor were killed by an Israeli airstrike. Slightly more accurate; but no indication of regret for a slander.