Al-Jazeera Under Fire For Its Coverage Of Egypt
It was later revealed that the anti-Morsi areas were usually packed — Al-Jazeera just showed them at the times of day that they were empty.
Then came the killing of more than 50 pro-Morsi demonstrators by Egyptian security forces. Some Al-Jazeera reports initially said the number was in the hundreds.
The military later held a press conference on the killings. An Al-Jazeera correspondent was booed out of the room by other reporters.
For Haggag Salama, who had freelanced for Al-Jazeera for 10 years, the misreporting of the number of slain protesters was the last straw. He called another local TV station and announced his resignation on air.
Salama says Al-Jazeera had no sources and exaggerated the numbers to favor the Muslim Brotherhood.
In the days that followed, reports surfaced that some 20 more Al-Jazeera employees had quit — although at least one might have been a fake and others now say they will probably go back.
Media watchers say it's important to stress the difference between Al-Jazeera Live Egypt, Al-Jazeera Arabic and Al-Jazeera English. The latter is the channel most well-known in the U.S., and Al-Jazeera English correspondents maintain their coverage is unbiased.
They also say part of what's happening in Egypt is a witch hunt by some Egyptians who are now rabidly anti-Morsi and anti-Muslim Brotherhood. Other Islamist channels have been closed down since Morsi's ouster.
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