Australian Foreign Minister Alexander Downer has slammed the media over its coverage of the Lebanon conflict. Pretty refreshing to hear from someone in government over the MSM misdemeanors and attacking their 'sloppy reporting'

"Speaking in Brisbane, Mr Downer criticised local and international media for sloppy reporting and failing to check facts.

In particular, he singled out the London-based Reuters news agency over an incident in which a photographer deliberately manipulated a digital image so that the effects of an Israeli bombing raid over Beirut were exaggerated.

The news agency later admitted the alteration, quickly withdrew the image from circulation and the photographer, a stringer, was sacked.

But journalists’ reporting of the conflict also came under fire from the Foreign Minister.

He accused “some of the world’s most prestigious media outlets” of falling for a hoax in their reporting of an alleged aerial attack on a Lebanese Red Cross ambulance by Israel.

“After closer study of the images of the damage to the ambulance, it is beyond serious dispute that this episode has all the makings of a hoax,” Mr Downer said.

“Yet some of the world’s most prestigious media outlets, including some of those represented here today (Monday), ran that story as fact - unchallenged, unquestioned.”"