On May 9, 2005, Michael Isikoff and John Barry, two seasoned reporters for Newsweek, published a story about the interrogations and imprisonment of suspected terrorists in the aftermath of the Al Qaeda attacks on September 11, 2001 that left Americans in shock and mourning for the many lives that were lost. The suspected terrorists were detained in what became a controversial military prison in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. Isikoff and Barry described the culturally insensitive interrogation methods that were conducted at Guantanamo Bay by the American military. They described the soldiers desecrating the Koran, the Moslem holy book, which they placed on toilets and even one time flushed down the toilet. The information for this story was…show more content… The story and the effects of the story intensified the already tense situation even more and increased distrust between Islamic and non-Islamic nations. The mistaken report caused worldwide problems including the credibility of American news reporting and a number of people killed and injured in the riots that occurred as a result. In addition to these terrible effects, the Newsweek story ruined reputations of people and organizations such as that of the military and possibly the government. It brought about anger and c a great deal of criticism of the American military. It brought about distrust for the military, the government and even the media. Had the names of the soldiers involved in these interrogations had been leaked, their reputations and professional futures could have been jeopardized. The accuracy of the reporters who wrote the story were also questioned. The problem could have been avoided by Newsweek had the reporters exercised some precautions and taken some additional steps in gathering their information. Dale Jacquette’s book Journalistic Ethics states, “We should expect that most journalists, if they are in tune with the moral obligations of truth telling in the profession, are always aware that there are external checks on the truth or falsehood of their reporting. They should therefore welcome the fact that their work must constantly stand the test
