
Associated Press
Why AP Media Bias Deserves High Level of Scrutiny
The Associated Press has historically been considered the "gold standard" of objective journalism. It operates a wire service, meaning local and national news organizations around the country use AP's content to fill gaps in their coverage. That means AP news content has extremely wide impact and reach.
As such, AllSides does particularly extensive analysis of AP. When AP displays political bias, or fails to portray political events, legislation, and perspectives in a balanced and even-handed way, the impact is broad and far-reaching. A media outlet that is relied upon by outlets all over the country deserves a high level of scrutiny when it comes to political bias.
Border guards in Saudi Arabia have fired machine guns and launched mortars at Ethiopians trying to cross into the kingdom from Yemen, likely killing hundreds of the unarmed migrants in recent years, Human Rights Watch said in a report released Monday.
The rights group cited eyewitness reports of attacks by troops and images that showed dead bodies and burial sites on migrant routes, saying the death toll could even be “possibly thousands.”
The United Nations has already questioned Saudi Arabia about its troops opening fire on the migrants in an escalating pattern of attacks along its southern border with war-torn Yemen.
A Saudi government official, speaking on condition of anonymity as he was not authorized to speak publicly, called the Human Rights Watch report “unfounded and not based on reliable sources,” without offering evidence to support the assertion. Yemen’s Houthi rebels, who allegedly make tens of thousands of dollars a week smuggling migrants over the border, did not respond to requests for comment.