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Philipe Karentsy, the French media analyst who exposed the Al-Dura hoax for the fraud that it is, was in town the other day at the invitation of the International Free Press Society. He told a largely Jewish gathering that the blood libel has ramifications far beyond the effort to besmirch and isolate Israel:

...The image of the boy and his father frozen in fear has been used on stamps, in monuments and on billboards to symbolize the brutality of Israeli defence forces, often inciting violence.

But the footage has also become a symbol of media manipulation, media bias and media fraud, with Karsenty leading the way to proving, using ballistics and blood experts, as well as raw footage and the legal system, that the al-Durrah incident was a complete fabrication.

"I created Media Rating in 2004 to look at the media in France, because if we had a watchdog in the first place, we could have fought this hoax,' Karsenty says.

"Now, this is taking 100% of my time because this is the worse hoax since the creation of the Western media. It's important for people to understand the truth of this picture."

Karsenty was sued by France 2 for libel and eventually vindicated after an appeal in 2008.

But the whole incident is about more than just Israelis and Palestinians, Karsenty said.

"One of the most important things to do is fight for the truth. This is not for the Jews or for Israel, it's for democracy," he said.

"Democracy is not just about voting. If the media is brining you lies and we don't react, that is insane...

Agreed. But the media are a reflection of the wider society, and if the zeitgeist of the times is missing a moral compass; if it is in the grip of profound moral relativism such that "truth" and "lies" must take a backseat to "competing narratives," then how can people react? Do they even have the tools, the gumption, to be able to muster a reaction? Yes, the occasional Karentsy steps up--and thank God for that--but it should be abundantly clear by now that those who are willing to buck the trend and speak truth to the lies are small in number and likely to grow smaller because of how the insane society marginalizes them, demonizes them, and turns them into pariahs (for the supposed "health" of the body politic, of course).

That said, I think it is incumbent on us to speak the truth whenever and wherever we can: now more than ever the truth shall set and keep you free.