Editing Robert Fisk (section)

===Stances and reception===
Fisk was known for his criticism of the [[foreign policy of the United States]], particularly the country's involvement in the wars in Afghanistan and the Middle East.<ref name="IT20201101" /> He was consistently critical of Israel, labelling some of the country's actions against Palestinians as "[[Israeli war crimes|war crimes]]".<ref name="BBCObit">{{cite news |publisher=[[BBC News]] |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-54774539 |title=Robert Fisk, veteran UK journalist, dies aged 74 |date=3 November 2020}}</ref> One of his beliefs was that he should report events from the point of view of the victim rather than those in authority.<ref name="TimesObit">{{cite news |work=[[The Times]] |title=Robert Fisk obituary |date=2 November 2020 |url=https://www.thetimes.com/uk/article/robert-fisk-obituary-2c2n2n086}}</ref><ref>Pat and Samir Twair, [https://www.wrmea.org/008-december/robert-fisk-on-reporting-from-the-viewpoint-of-the-victim.html Robert Fisk on Reporting "From the Viewpoint Of the Victim"], ''[[Washington Report on Middle East Affairs]]'', December 2008. ''"A story should be told from the viewpoint of the victim whose blood is being spilled. During the time of the slave trade, I’d have interviewed the slaves, not the captain of the slave ship."''</ref> ''[[The Times]]'' newspaper, in its November 2020 obituary of Fisk, said that he had developed a "visceral dislike of the Israeli government and its allies" following his coverage of the [[Sabra and Shatila massacre]], arguing that this had made Fisk biased and "unable to provide a dispassionate account of events and their context".<ref name="TimesObit"/> [[David Pryce-Jones]], writing in ''[[The Spectator]]'' in 2003, said that Fisk was guilty of "hysteria and distortion" in his coverage of Middle Eastern topics. In contrast, ''[[The Independent]]'', for whom he wrote from 1989, praised him as being "renowned for his courage in questioning official narratives from governments".<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/obituaries/robert-fisk-obituary-died-journalist-middle-east-b1538618.html |work=[[The Independent]] |title=Robert Fisk: The outstanding and truth-telling journalist who ventured into danger |first=David |last=McKittrick |date=4 November 2020}}</ref>

The BBC's [[Jeremy Bowen]] also praised him following his death, and noted the controversy Fisk drew for his "sharp criticism of the US and Israel, and of Western foreign policy". Bowen described himself as an admirer who would miss Fisk's "guts and his appetite for the fight".<ref name="BBCObit" /> Fisk dismissed the controversy related to his reporting in Syria, saying that he was "writing only what he saw and heard".<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2020/nov/01/robert-fisk-veteran-british-foreign-correspondent-dies-aged-74 |title=Robert Fisk, veteran British foreign correspondent, dies aged 74 |first=Clea |last=Skopeliti |date=1 November 2020 |work=[[The Guardian]]}}</ref> His ex-wife, [[Lara Marlowe]], took exception to the use of the adjective "controversial" in his obituaries, saying "he was a prolific non-conformist in the world of journalism, whose judgments avoided jumping on the bandwagon" and, in her experience, had been "intuitive, rapid [...] and invariably right".<ref>{{Cite news|last=Marlowe|first=Lara|title=Lara Marlowe: Robert Fisk, my former husband, was the finest journalist of his generation|url=https://www.irishtimes.com/life-and-style/people/lara-marlowe-robert-fisk-my-former-husband-was-the-finest-journalist-of-his-generation-1.4401075|access-date=15 November 2020|newspaper=The Irish Times}}</ref>

Similarly, the foreign correspondent for ''The Independent'' [[Patrick Cockburn]], responding to criticisms raised in obituaries, said "[[wikt:derring-do|Derring-do]] in times of war usually gets good notices from the press and from public opinion, but moral endurance is a much rarer commodity, when the plaudits are replaced by abuse, often from people who see a world divided between devils and angels and denounce anybody reporting less than angelic behaviour on the part of the latter for being secret sympathisers with the devil." Cockburn wrote that Fisk was better than anyone at "find[ing] out significant news as fast as possible, disregard[ing] all efforts by governments, armies and media to suppress it, and pass[ing] that information on to the public so they can better judge what is happening in the world around them".<ref>{{Cite news|date=13 November 2020|title=Robert Fisk had true independence of mind – which is why he angered governments |first=Patrick |last=Cockburn|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/voices/robert-fisk-iraq-reporting-governments-b1722619.html|access-date=15 November 2020|work=The Independent}}</ref>