The France 24 news network has suspended four journalists from its Arabic service for alleged antisemitism.
In a statement issued on Monday, the state-funded French broadcaster said that it had opened an investigation after a probe by CAMERA (Committee for Accuracy in Middle East Reporting in America) found offending posts on social media accounts belonging to three of its Arabic-language correspondents and a journalist.
“As a precautionary measure, and as this type of procedure requires, the four journalists concerned were exempted from work pending the results of the audit,” France 24 said. “As in all of France 24's languages, the Arabic-language channel distinguishes itself every day by its commitment to the fight against antisemitism, racism, and discrimination.”
CAMERA had found evidence the journalists had made inappropriate references to the Holocaust, among other offensive statements, according to Politico.
The network, which broadcasts in several languages, including French, English and Arabic, launched an internal investigation into the matter, hiring an outside consulting firm.
The CAMERA report was publicized by the Simon Wiesenthal Center (SWC) who wrote an open letter to France 24, leading to the channel’s investigation.
SWC Director for International Relations, Dr. Shimon Samuels, told France 24’s director: “It is the news broadcasting company’s responsibility to vet its collaborators’ reports – as well as their social media footprint – to avoid being associated with blatant outbursts of Jew hatred, calling for violence, glorification of Nazism or of terrorism..."