[{"command":"openDialog","selector":"#drupal-modal","settings":null,"data":"\u003Cdiv class=\u0022ds-1col clearfix\u0022\u003E\n\n  \n\n  \n  \u003Cp\u003EWithin 24 hours of the consulate attack, news agencies began connecting Ansar al-Sharia to the assault. The BBC was one of the first networks to make the connection, stating on September 12, 2012, that Ansar al Sharia \u201ctook advantage of a demonstration against a trailer for a controversial American film.\u201d\u003Cspan class=\u0022footnote\u0022\u003ERobin Banerji, \u201cDid Ansar Al-Sharia Carry out Libya Attack?,\u201d BBC News, September 12, 2012, \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.bbc.com\/news\/world-africa-19575753\u0022\u003Ehttp:\/\/www.bbc.com\/news\/world-africa-19575753\u003C\/a\u003E.\u003C\/span\u003E This was the first time the militant group received widespread global media attention.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAmerican media coverage focused on the attack resulting from spontaneous protests against the controversial film \u201cInnocence of Muslims.\u201d In a November 2012 study by George Mason University\u2019s Center for Media and Public Affairs, researchers concluded that major U.S. news agencies portrayed the attack as a spontaneous protest four times as often as the attack was framed as a premeditated terrorist attack. The researchers posited that this was due to the Obama administration\u2019s initial characterization of the attack arising from the spontaneous escalation of the protests.\u003Cspan class=\u0022footnote\u0022\u003EStephen Dinan, \u201cStudy: Media Accepted Obama Version of Benghazi Attack,\u201d \u003Cem\u003EWashington Times\u003C\/em\u003E, November 2, 2012, \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.washingtontimes.com\/blog\/inside-politics\/2012\/nov\/2\/study-media-accepted-obama-version-benghazi-attack\/\u0022\u003Ehttp:\/\/www.washingtontimes.com\/blog\/inside-politics\/2012\/nov\/2\/study-media-accepted-obama-version-benghazi-attack\/\u003C\/a\u003E.\u003C\/span\u003E In a September 2012 article, NPR appeared to adopt this view. In an interview with ASL leader Mohamed al-Zahawi, in which he denies any ASL ties to the consulate attack and al-Qaeda, NPR portrays ASL as an unpopular but an almost necessary force to keep peace and stability in the country following the civil war. The report asserted that it was unlikely that ASL was connected to the consulate attack because, as NPR explained, the group was \u201cnot interested in provoking the West right now.\u201d The report ends with the outlet paraphrasing ASL leaders who say that U.S. should not intervene, since any retaliation would backfire and threaten \u201cthis fragile transitional nation.\u201d\u003Cspan class=\u0022footnote\u0022\u003ELeila Fadel, \u201cLibyan Group Denies Role In U.S. Consulate Attack,\u201d NPR, September 20, 2012, \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.npr.org\/2012\/09\/20\/161459963\/libyan-group-denies-role-in-u-s-consulate-attack\u0022\u003Ehttp:\/\/www.npr.org\/2012\/09\/20\/161459963\/libyan-group-denies-role-in-u-s-consulate-attack\u003C\/a\u003E.\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EFox News was critical of the Obama administration in the aftermath of the attacks. The network focused on what they saw as inaction on the part of the government, both in lack of response and in lack of investigation. Fox was most critical of the U.S. government\u0027s hesitation in characterizing the assault on the consulate as a \u201cterrorist attack.\u201d\u003Cspan class=\u0022footnote\u0022\u003EMichael Calderone, \u201cFox News Aired Nearly 1,100 Benghazi Segments Across 5 Programs, Study Finds,\u201d Huffington Post, September 16, 2014, \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.huffingtonpost.com\/2014\/09\/16\/fox-news-benghazi-media-matters-study_n_5824878.html\u0022\u003Ehttp:\/\/www.huffingtonpost.com\/2014\/09\/16\/fox-news-benghazi-media-matters-study_n_5824878.html\u003C\/a\u003E.\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\n\u003C\/div\u003E\n\n","dialogOptions":{"minWidth":850,"resizable":true,"modal":true,"title":"Benghazi Consulate Attack"}},{"command":"doFootnotes"}]