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Mint Press News (MPN) is an American news website established in January 2012, based in Minnesota. The website describes itself as covering "national politics, foreign affairs, energy, the environment and civil liberties through the lens of social justice and human rights." In September 2013 it listed ten writers on its website, including reporters and producers with ties to other world news outlets including the BBC, National Public Radio, the Associated Press, CounterPunch, Al Jazeera English, The Guardian, Truthout, AlterNet and others.

History

Mint Press News was founded in January 2012 by Mnar A. Muhawesh, a Minnesota-born daughter of Palestinian immigrants, and journalism graduate of St. Cloud State University. MPN said it was a for-profit “regular news organization,” with an initial three-year break-even business plan based on advertising. In January 2012 MPN's investors were said to be unnamed "retired businesspeople" — described by MinnPost as "unfortunate for a journalism operation fighting alongside people seeking transparency."A "key adviser" of MPN is the editor's father-in-law Odeh Muhawesh, a businessman and adjunct theology professor at the University of St. Thomas, a Catholic liberal arts university in the Twin Cities. In 2013 in an email to BuzzFeed, Muhawesh said she is financing Mint Press alone.

On 29 August 2013, an MPN article bylined to MPN contributors Dale Gavlak and Yahya Ababneh reported that Syrian rebels and local residents in Ghouta, Syria alleged in interviews that the Al-Nusra Front was responsible for the chemical weapons incidents in Ghouta; those interviewed claimed that weapons had been delivered to untrained fighters and "some of the fighters handled the weapons improperly and set off the explosions." Gavlak later told Brown Moses Blog that "Despite my repeated requests, made directly and through legal counsel, they have not been willing to issue a retraction stating that I was not the author. Yahya Ababneh is the sole reporter and author of the Mint Press News piece." Gavlak later clarified that she had "served as an editor of Ababneh's material in English as he normally writes in Arabic. ... There was no communication by Mint Press News to Ms. Gavlak that it intended to use her byline. Ms. Muhawesh took this action unilaterally and without Ms. Gavlak's permission." Gavlak had been a regular writer and contributor to Mint press News, writing for the online new magazine since March 2012

Gavlak ended her relationship with MPN. Additionally, citing issues of credibility and accuracy following the Ghoutha article controversy, journalists Steve Horn and Patrick O. Strickland left MPN. The MPN report had been "widely circulated" and cited among others by Military.com, the Voice of Russia, Press TV, Spanish newspaper ABC, ConsortiumNews.com and InfoWars. Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting initially characterized the article as "honest about the limits of its knowledge", but after Gavlak's comments dissociating herself from the story wrote that "with the allegations of unprofessional behavior on the part of Mint Press News, there's little reason to take the Mint Press story seriously." Bridget Johnson on PJ Media had previously described MPN as having "anti-U.S. and anti-Saudi links, as well as ties to the Occupy movement." Louis Proyect looked at some of the political attitudes of 'key adviser' Odeh Muhawesh on his blog. Later in September, journalist Brian Whitaker raised questions about the Ababneh byline, writing that "If Yahya Ababneh and Yan Barakat are indeed the same person, the question arises as to why Mint Press called him Ababneh rather than Barakat (which is the name he appears to have used for his other writing)", and noting that a comment on the Daily Mail website in the name of Yan Barakat had been left on 28 August, which had given the essence of the MPN story with the additional detail that he had first been alerted to the story by a Russian.

References

1. ^ David Brauer, MinnPost, 18 January 2012, Who is MintPress and why are they doing all this hiring?
2. Mint Press News, About MPN, accessed 4 September 2013
3. University of St. Thomas, Muhawesh, Odeh
4. buzzfeed, October 2013
5. Mint Press News, "EXCLUSIVE: Syrians In Ghouta Claim Saudi-Supplied Rebels Behind Chemical Attack," Aug. 29, 2013. http://www.mintpressnews.com/witnesses-of-gas-attack-say-saudis-supplied-rebels-with-chemical-weapons/168135/
6. Brown Moses Blog, 20 September 2013, Statement By Dale Gavlak On The Mint Press Article "Syrians In Ghouta Claim Saudi-Supplied Rebels Behind Chemical Attack"
7. Moses, Brown. "The Weekend's Developments In The Mint Press Saga". Retrieved 25 September 2013.
8. "Author : Dale Gavlak". Retrieved 25 September 2013.
9. Mitchell Prothero / McClatchy Foreign Staff, Sacramento Bee, 21 September 2013, AP freelancer says report of rebel chemical weapons use not hers
10. Gray, Rosie. "The Inside Story of One Website's Defense of Assad". BuzzFeed. BuzzFeed. Retrieved 30 October 2013.
11. Bryant Jordan, 10 September 2013, military.com, White House Mum on Rebel Chem Weapons Use
12. Voice of Russia, 30 August 2013, 'Syrian rebels take responsibility for the chemical attack admitting the weapons were provided by Saudis' - source
13. infowars.com, 30 August 2013, EXCLUSIVE: Syrians In Ghouta Claim Saudi-Supplied Rebels Behind Chemical Attack
14. Lisa Pease, ConsortiumNews.com, 4 September 2013, The Still-Sketchy Intel on Syria
15. Press TV, 1 September 2013, Saudi Prince Bandar behind chemical attack in Syria: Report
16. ABC, 2 September 2013, Una colaboradora de AP afirma que el ataque en Damasco fue obra de los rebeldes
17. Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting, "Which Syrian Chemical Attack Account Is More Credible?", 1 Sept 2013 with undated update 20 September 2013.
18. Bridget Johnson, PJ Media, 31 August 2013, Shia ‘Advocacy Journalism’ Behind Story Claiming Saudis Gave Rebels Chemical Weapons
19. Louis Proyect blog
20. Brian Whitaker, 22 September 2013, al-bab.com, Yahya Ababneh exposed
21. Dan Murphy, Christian Science Monitor, 23 September 2013, Syrian rebels and chemical weapons: a disinformation operation?

External links

• Official website

• Digital newspapers published in the United States
• American websites
• Internet properties established in 2012