Arab media again falls for joke article: "Kissinger predicts Israel will occupy half of ME"

A November 2011 spoof from British satirical website The Daily Squib has suddenly been picked up by dozens of mainstream Arab media as if it is real.

The article, entitled "Henry Kissinger: 'If You Can't Hear the Drums of War You Must Be Deaf'", includes this section:

"If you are an ordinary person, then you can prepare yourself for war by moving to the countryside and building a farm, but you must take guns with you, as the hordes of starving will be roaming. Also, even though the elite will have their safe havens and specialist shelters, they must be just as careful during the war as the ordinary civilians, because their shelters can still be compromised."

After pausing for a few minutes to collect his thoughts, Mr Kissinger, carried on: "We told the military that we would have to take over seven Middle Eastern countries for their resources and they have nearly completed their job. We all know what I think of the military, but I have to say they have obeyed orders superfluously this time. It is just that last stepping stone, i.e. Iran which will really tip the balance. How long can China and Russia stand by and watch America clean up? The great Russian bear and Chinese sickle will be roused from their slumber and this is when Israel will have to fight with all its might and weapons to kill as many Arabs as it can. Hopefully if all goes well, half the Middle East will be Israeli. Our young have been trained well for the last decade or so on combat console games, it was interesting to see the new Call of Duty Modern Warfare 3 game, which mirrors exactly what is to come in the near future with its predictive programming. Our young, in the US and West, are prepared because they have been programmed to be good soldiers, cannon fodder, and when they will be ordered to go out into the streets and fight those crazy Chins and Russkies, they will obey their orders. Out of the ashes we shall build a new society, a new world order; there will only be one superpower left, and that one will be the global government that wins. Don't forget, the United States, has the best weapons, we have stuff that no other nation has, and we will introduce those weapons to the world when the time is right."

End of interview. Our reporter is ushered out of the room by Kissinger's minder.

Suddenly, Arabic media has picked up on this story and reporting on it straight.

Yemen Today, Palestine Press Agency, Jordan Zad and dozens of other Arabic websites are recounting Kissinger's supposed warmongering words in their headlines.

Other recent satirical articles that Arabic media believed were the George Clooney 3D Arafat bio-pic and Paris Hilton converting to Islam. (The last one was also on The Daily Squib.)