Hyperbole and bad math touch off media hysteria about kidnappings in Haiti

Haiti News Watch

Analysis:

AP correspondent ALFRED de MONTESQUIOU wrote a recent article that appeared on the Forbes.com website under the title: "Kidnappings Plague Residents Across Haiti." The article used a single dramatic example to portray kidnapping in the capital while the title suggested that the phenomenon is prevalent throughout the country. The article touched off a hyperbolic media hysteria of headlines related to kidnappings in Haiti.

Perhaps most telling is the bad arithmetic the article uses to back up it's claim.

Article Title(s):

Kidnappings Plague Residents Across Haiti By ALFRED de MONTESQUIOU , 12.26.2005, 02:18 PM Forbes.com url: http://www.forbes.com/work/feeds/ap/2005/12/26/ap2414617.html

No one is safe from kidnapping gangs in Haiti December 27, 2005 BY ALFRED de MONTESQUIOU Detroit Free Press url: http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20051227/NEWS07/512270323/1009

original title of article: Kidnap capital of the Americas later changed to: Wave of abductions plague Haiti attributed to AP but based on ALFRED de MONTESQUIOU's original piece USA Today - Dec 26, 2005 url: http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/2005-12-26-haiti-abductions_x.htm

No one safe in Haiti AP Wednesday 28th December, 2005 Posted: 00:24 CIT (05:24 GMT) Cay Compass, Cayman Islands url: http://www.caycompass.com/cgi-bin/CFPnews.cgi?ID=1009891

Article:

Kidnappings Plague Residents Across Haiti
By ALFRED de MONTESQUIOU , 12.26.2005, 02:18 PM Forbes. http://www.forbes.com/work/feeds/ap/2005/12/26/ap2414617.html

Quotation:

Thirty kidnappings were reported in Haiti in November, and 30 during the first week of December alone, said police spokesman Frantz Lerebours.

= 60 by our math

Eight to 10 people are abducted every day in this Caribbean nation of 8 million, more than any other country in the Americas, said Judy Orihuela, an FBI spokeswoman in Miami.

= 240 to 300 per month

Infraction:

bad math to support sensationalist journalism

Article:

Kidnappings Plague Residents Across Haiti
By ALFRED de MONTESQUIOU , 12.26.2005, 02:18 PM Forbes.com url: http://www.forbes.com/work/feeds/ap/2005/12/26/ap2414617.html

Quotation:

The actual number is probably much higher because many families prefer to negotiate with kidnappers rather than notify police.

Infraction:

unsubstantiated claim, circular logic

Note: How could you prove the number is "probably" higher given that it based upon the premise that it is unreported. If this is true, would it be hard for a journalist to find quotes from a good number of people who have not reported kidnappings?

Haiti News Watch (HNW) is an independent organization dedicated to fact checking news sources related to coverage of events in Haiti. Our reports and analysis of news content is intended to provide readers with story context and the background of sources used in published articles related to Haiti.