Wednesday 27 October 2010

AFP: same article - different titles in French and in English

Background: Jewish town to sue French news agency AFP for libel

AFP (Agence France Press) had the same article in French and English, but with different titles.

English title:
"Settlers deny ruining Palestinian olive grove with sewage" 

French title conveying a  much more negative message :
"Thousands of olive trees infected [i.e. poisoned ?] by sewage from a colony [the French always use the word "colony" in preference to "implantations"] in the West Bank"
"Des milliers d'oliviers infectés par les égouts d'une colonie en Cisjordanie"

A reader indicated that the first version of APF's article in French (as relayed by Belgian newspaper Le Soir) carried the same title but did not report the settlers' ["colonialists'"] version : "The community of Elon Moreh has a very sophisticated sewage system which cost hundreds of thousands of shekels. The water is purified and reused within the community for our own agriculture," said David HaIvri, blaming "neighbouring Arab communities" for the flood."

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