BBG Watch Commentary
Sony Hack: North Korean Diplomat Reportedly Denies Country’s Involvement, by Erik Hayden, Hollywood Reporter, Dec. 4, 2014
Is the Hollywood Reporter making subtle fun of the U.S. taxpayer-funded Voice of America (VOA) and the Broadcasting Board of Governors (BBG) over a VOA “Exclusive” news report that lacked balance and any dose of healthy journalistic skepticism? Judge for yourself. This is an excerpt from the Hollywood Reporter story.
“Linking the DPRK to the Sony hacking is another fabrication targeting the country,” a North Korean diplomat told Voice of America reporter Baik Sungwon. The North Korean official’s name was not disclosed. “My country publicly declared that it would follow international norms banning hacking and piracy,” the official added.
Voice of America touted its story as a denial from an official who was articulating the North Korean government’s position on the matter. The VOA news service is funded by the U.S. Congress and presided over by the Broadcasting Board of Governors.
READ FULL STORY: Sony Hack: North Korean Diplomat Reportedly Denies Country's Involvement | The Hollywood Reporter.
At the very least, Voice of America should have included comments of cyber experts, reported by other U.S. and international media when mentioning the VOA-provided regime statement, that they found some evidence of North Korean hacking of SONY. Asking VOA to even hint that North Korean regime statements may not square with reality would probably be too much for this U.S. taxpayer-funded “news” organization.
ALSO READ: Russia’s SPUTNIK and RT, WP, BBC, others have McCain – Bell – Hungary story – still waiting for Voice of America, BBG Watch, Dec. 4, 2014.
AND: No Voice of America report on controversy over confirmation of U.S. Ambassador to Hungary, BBG Watch, Dec. 4, 2014.
[Voice of America] Exclusive: North Korea Denies Involvement in Cyber-attack on Sony Pictures
Baik Sungwon
December 04, 2014 2:09 AM
WASHINGTON—North Korea has firmly denied charges that it is behind a massive cyber-attack against Sony Pictures.
A North Korean diplomat in New York told VOA Wednesday his country has nothing to do with the cyber-attack that crippled the Hollywood studio’s computer system last week.
“Linking the DPRK to the Sony hacking is another fabrication targeting the country,” said the official, who preferred to remain anonymous.
“My country publicly declared that it would follow international norms banning hacking and piracy,” the official claimed.This is the first time the North has denied its involvement in the cyber-attack on Sony. Pyongyang has been largely silent on the accusation, sparking rampant speculation that Pyongyang might have sponsored the attack.
Some press linked the cyber-attack to Pyongyang’s anger over Sony’s upcoming comedy “The Interview,” the plot of which involves an attempted assassination of the North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.
Earlier, the North denounced the movie and vowed to “mercilessly destroy” anyone associated with it. Pyongyang also sent a letter to the White House asking President Obama to stop the movie, calling the distribution of the film “undisguised sponsoring of terrorism.”
The movie is scheduled for release on Christmas Day in more than 60 countries around the world, including the U.S.
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BBG WATCH ALSO RECOMMENDS CHECKING: Voice of America promotes N. Korean press release-like VOA news report as exclusive, BBG Watch, Oct. 23, 2014
AND: What’s worse – Voice of America zombie promo for Pakistan or its video of well-stocked food shops and fat kids in starving North Korea?, BBG Watch, Mar. 19, 2014
Link to the video on YouTube.