The Calcalist probe into the Israel Police's use of Pegasus spyware dealt a major blow to the police not only because of what it said, but because since the report came out about seven months ago, one of the police's most important tools in fighting crime was taken away from them. The program helped the police solve major crimes like murders, rapes, and pedophilic attacks online. But it also has to be said that the report was important because it exposed, for the first time, a police tactic that was not subject to oversight, and the fact that this invasive tool is not error-free and should be regulated by law.
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In the past few years, the wind has been blowing in the direction of bringing down the law through various reports. In contrast to the pre-social media era, when every report was carefully checked before it went to press, the facts no longer matter. Proof of this is that despite the investigative team's conclusions that the technology had been used only to solve and prevent serious crimes, there are still some people who are attacking the police and law enforcement instead of welcoming the correction.
What turned out to be wild exaggeration, making it look like Israel had an institutionalized scheme of spying on its citizens, dragged with entire country to the edge of a government panel of inquiry. A tsunami of fake news dragged the public into fear and anxiety, threatening to wipe out the last drop of faith the people still had in the police. The Calcalist report accused the police of cracking citizens' cell phones without any oversight or accountability, but the drive to publish it without any account or oversight came from its editors.
In the end, the mountain turned out to be molehill and the lesson still needs to be learned. Maybe it's time for some introspection by the police and the public alike. On one hand, journalistic exposes are welcome and should not be denied hastily, but on the other, with all due respect for those same reporters, the truth is much more important.
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