Topic: CNSNews.com
CNSNews.com reporter Patrick Goodenough has long distorted the story of Syrian refugees admitted to the U.S., obsessing over the number of Muslims admitted compared with the number of Christians while burying or ignoring entirely the relevant fact that -- as he occasionally admits -- the number he reports, which comes from the State Department and is based on data from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees-based number, isn't accurate because Christian refugees tend to go through churches or Christian charities instead of the U.N. He has even falsely suggested that the U.S. His biased reporting has led CNS to maliciously suggest the Obama administration was blocking Christian refugees from entering the country. Goodenough even has trouble clearly stating that many Muslim refugees (particulary Sunni) are fleeing persecution in Syria just like Christians are.
Now that President Trump has order a ban on all immigration from Syria and other Muslim-dominated countries, it's worth a review of just how biased Goodenough's reporting on the issue has been in the past several months with his refugee counts. We'll divide it up into categories based on what key info was reported or omitted and include the biased headline on each article.
No mention of inaccurate numbers, no mention of Muslim persecution:
- Feb. 8: 573 Muslims, 2 Christians: Syrian Refugees Admitted to US Since Paris Terror Attacks
- Feb. 16: Syrian Refugees Admitted to US Since Paris Attack: 602 Muslims, 2 Christians
- March 14: 0.4% of Syrian Refugees Admitted to U.S. Since ISIL Attacks in Paris Are Christian
- April 10: Syrian Refugees Admitted to US Since Paris Attack: 1,070 Muslims; 4 Christians
- April 25: 220 Syrian Refugees Admitted Over Past 2 Weeks Include 1 Christian
- July 25: 6,726 Syrian Refugees Admitted to U.S. So Far in FY16--But Only 23 Are Christians
- Aug. 29: 10,126: Administration Hits Syria Refugee Target; 0.5% Are Christians
- Oct. 3: 12,587 Syrian Refugees Admitted in FY 2016: 12,486 Muslims, 68 Christians, 24 Yazidis
- Nov. 15: 14,074 Syrian Refugees Admitted to US in Year Since Paris Attacks; 99.1% Muslim
- Dec. 2: 14,172 Syrian Refugees Admitted in 2016 Through November; 98.9% Muslim
- Jan. 25: 132 Syrian Muslim Refugees Admitted to U.S. in 4 Days After Inauguration
- Jan. 25: Syrian Refugees Admitted Since Paris Attacks: 525 Muslims, 1 Christian
- Feb. 1: 550 Syrian Refugees Admitted to U.S. Since Paris Attacks Now Include 2 Christians
- Feb. 29: Only 3 Christians Among 651 Syrian Refugees Admitted to U.S. Since Paris Attacks
- March 29: Syrian Refugees Admitted to U.S. Since Paris Attacks: 911 Muslims, 4 Christians
- May 23: Record 499 Syrian Refugees Admitted to US So Far in May Includes No Christians
- June 1: 1,037 Syrian Refugees Admitted in May: Two Christians, 1,035 Muslims
- Aug. 22: Administration Nears Syrian Refugee Goal: 9,077 Muslims; 47 Christians
- Dec. 29: 15,479 Syrian Refugees Have Been Admitted This Year – 606% More Than 2015; 98.8% Are Muslims
Mentions Muslim persecution, no mention of inaccurate numbers:
- Jan. 18: Syrian Refugees Admitted Since Paris Attack:1 Christian, 482 Muslims; 0.2% Christian
- July 5: Syrian Refugees Admitted to U.S. More Than Doubled in June; 0.3 Percent Were Christians
- Sept. 12: 11,491 Syrian Refugees Admitted Already; 0.46% Are Christians
Mentions inaccurate numbers and Muslim persecution:
- May 10: Syrian Refugee ‘Surge’ to U.S. in April: 440 Muslims, 10 Yazidis, 1 Christian
- Nov. 1: 13,210 Syrian Refugees So Far in 2016; Up 675% from 2015; 99.1% Are Muslims
Obviously, every single article Goodenough wrote on the subject should have been in the final category, in which both the inaccurate numbers and Muslim persecution are mentioned, yet only two of the 24 articles are.
What every single article does do, however -- as the headlines clearly demonstrate -- is promote the unsubstantiated idea that the Obama administration was deliberately blocking Christian Syrian refugees from entering the U.S. Surely even Goodenough knows that's not true.
Goodenough is capable of doing good reporting, he has not done so here. To the contrary: He has served as a dupe to CNS' anti-Obama agenda.
