The First Street Journal has previously reported on the Associated Press Stylebook, and how the AP uses it to try to push political debates in one direction or another, which is almost always to the left. Well, now the AP believe that the credentialed media should not refer to terrorists as terrorists!

AP Won’t Let Reporters Call Hamas a Terrorist Organization

by Jazz Shaw | Monday, October 23, 2023 | 9:21 AM EDT

Many news outlets, blogs, and other publications (probably far too many) rely on the Associated Press Stylebook or style guide. Just for the record, this outlet is not one of them. But because it is so widely used, you may be noticing something missing from much of the coverage of the ongoing war between Hamas and Israel in the wake of the October 7 terror attacks. And that would be the word “terrorist.” As the Free Beacon discovered, the AP is discouraging anyone from using the word to describe the literal Hamas terrorists who murdered, raped, tortured, and kidnapped so many Israelis and people of other nationalities earlier this month. This kinder, gentler approach to Hamas terrorism is unlikely to induce much sympathy for the killers, but the Associated Press is clearly giving it the old college try.

The Associated Press instructs reporters and organizations that rely on its style guide to avoid referring to Hamas as a terrorist organization, a Washington Free Beacon review of the organization’s standards found.

The news outlet states in its “Israel-Hamas Topical Guide” that because “terrorism and terrorist have become politicized, and often are applied inconsistently … the AP is not using the terms for specific actions or groups, other than in direct quotations.” The guidance will affect how dozens of regional newspapers and national outlets like Politico report on the ongoing war in Gaza.

Hamas, an Islamist militant group dedicated to the annihilation of Israel and Jews around the world, is classified as a terrorist organization by dozens of countries, including the United States and the European Union. Hamas has undertaken hundreds of terrorist attacks against civilians since 1993, according to the Jewish Virtual Library.

The AP prefers that we refer to members of Hamas as “militants.” They will also allow the terms “Hamas fighters, attackers, or combatants.” I haven’t checked, but I assume the AP would also like us to refer to rabid dogs as “aggressive canines.”

There’s more at the original.

The First Street Journal maintains our own Stylebook, which we openly publish, something the AP does not do, at least not unless you pay them money. We prefer to do something really radical here, which is to tell the unvarnished truth, and by publishing our Stylebook, anyone who care can see exactly what we do and why we do it. If someone else wishes to use our Stylebook, he may do so, free of charge, though we’d like credit back for doing so.

When we refer to Hamas, we may use the term guerrilla fighters, because such is an accurate description of Hamas’ style and tactics, or perhaps militants, as the AP prefer, but we can and do also refer to Hamas as terrorists, because they are in fact terrorists. A sneak attack on Israeli kibbutz and towns and a music festival, with the operative orders being to attack and kill civilians, and to capture Jews to hold as hostages can be described no other way.

The AP defined terrorism in its update:

The calculated use of violence, especially against civilians, to create terror to disrupt and demoralize societies for political ends.

Is that not exactly what Hamas did on October 7^th? Apparently the AP want to soft-peddle that!

The terms terrorism and terrorist have become politicized, and often are applied inconsistently. Because they can be used to label such a wide range of actions and events, and because the debate around them is so intense, detailing what happened is more precise and better serves audiences.

Therefore, the AP is not using the terms for specific actions or groups, other than in direct quotations or when attributed to authorities or others. Instead, we describe specific atrocities, massacres, bombings, assassinations and other such actions.

I’m sorry, but the truth is simple: Hamas’ assault was a terrorist raid, one that the organization knew would not and could not succeed as far as a successful invasion to capture territory from Israel. Hamas knew full well that Israel, though caught by surprise, could and would respond in a devastating fashion, though it is at least possible that they didn’t realize just how devastating and resolute Israel’s response would be.

As much as the idiots and anti-Semites on the left would like to believe it, there are not somehow two philosophically equal sides here. There is the side of evil, Hamas, and the side of resolute self-defense, Israel. `