A (heavily edited and much delayed) version of this article appeared in The Express Tribune on September 17, 2010
A recent popular story concerning Pakistan’s Consul General in New York, Mr. Babar Hashmi, has been circulating on news channels, newspapers and internet blogs. According to the story on August 25, 2010, the NASDAQ Stock Market, an American stock exchange, offered the Consul General an hour of free-of-charge use of its seven-storey tall MarketSite Tower, a massive video display in Times Square in New York, to broadcast an appeal for Pakistan’s flood victims. Given the high visibility of the display, it was expected that this would garner at least one million dollars in donations. The Consul General allegedly squandered the opportunity by broadcasting his own images instead. Despite official denials and clarifications, the story has quickly spread across Pakistani media outlets and the Consul General has been thoroughly vilified for it. However, an investigation by the author questions the veracity of this widespread account.
A recent popular story concerning Pakistan’s Consul General in New York, Mr. Babar Hashmi, has been circulating on news channels, newspapers and internet blogs. According to the story on August 25, 2010, the NASDAQ Stock Market, an American stock exchange, offered the Consul General an hour of free-of-charge use of its seven-storey tall MarketSite Tower, a massive video display in Times Square in New York, to broadcast an appeal for Pakistan’s flood victims. Given the high visibility of the display, it was expected that this would garner at least one million dollars in donations. The Consul General allegedly squandered the opportunity by broadcasting his own images instead. Despite official denials and clarifications, the story has quickly spread across Pakistani media outlets and the Consul General has been thoroughly vilified for it. However, an investigation by the author questions the veracity of this widespread account.
The Consul General on the NASDAQ Tower
On August 18, NASDAQ invited the Consul General to its prestigious Closing Bell ceremony that signifies the end of the day’s trading. The invitation was sent through Pakistan’s Embassy in Washington and conveyed to the Consulate on August 20. An official NASDAQ press release issued on GlobeNewswire on August 24, 2010, provided details of the event, which was scheduled to last for fifteen minutes, from 3:45pm to 4:00pm.
On August 25, Mr. Hashmi attended at the ceremony along with his commercial attaché, Mr. Muhammad Aamer. The Closing Bell began with brief introductions by two NASDAQ officials, including Mr. Meyer Frucher, the Vice Chairman of NASDAQ OMX, the parent company that owns and operates the NASDAQ Stock Market. Mr. Frucher himself spoke about the challenges faced by Pakistan and the country’s relationship with the United States. Mr. Hashmi followed him to the rostrum and spoke for the allotted time of just over two minutes. He discussed the floods ravaging Pakistan and appealed for assistance, providing information on a donations account in the New York branch of the National Bank of Pakistan and on Pakistan International Airlines’ free relief service.
The entire event was broadcast live on the Tower, and across a number of international media outlets including on CNBC and its affiliates, Bloomberg and the Business News Network (Canada). Images from this appeal, and from a brief photo-session that had immediately followed, continued to be displayed on the NASDAQ Tower following the Closing Bell ceremony. Hence the Consul General’s pictures on the display in Times Square, alongside Mr. Aamer and NASDAQ officials. Archival footage of the entire event is freely available on NASDAQ’s website.
Speaking to the author, Mr. Aamer said that the, “media event [at NASDAQ] was no more than 15 minutes long. The Consul General was invited to only ring the closing bell of the market day of August 25, 2010, as the Chief Guest. [He] turned the simple bell ringing event into an opportunity for highlighting the plight of the flood affected people of his country.”
According to the author’s investigation, the Pakistani Consulate was given the opportunity to play a video clip on the Tower for 30 seconds, not one hour. This position has been reiterated by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in its press briefings on September 2 and September 9, and by the Consulates official press release of September 13. This information was also corroborated with NASDAQ. In an exclusive statement, a NASDAQ spokesperson stated via email that, “NASDAQ gives organizations participating in bell ceremonies the option to run a 30-second video on the NASDAQ MarketSite Tower within a given timeframe.” The spokesperson also confirmed that, “The Consulate General of Pakistan in New York provided a video message for the NASDAQ MarketSite Tower and the Closing Bell on August 25th, 2010.”
However, though a video message was provided, a 30-second clip was in fact not played on August 25. According to a Consular source, the video that the Embassy provided to the Consulate was 3-minutes long. Moreover, it was encrypted and could not be converted to a 30-second clip. As of the time of publication, the author had not received a response from the Pakistani Embassy in Washington as to why a suitable video was not provided. It seems, however, that the situation has been belatedly remedied. According to Mr. Aamer, “We have now handed over the clip to NASDAQ which they have agreed to beam on the NASDAQ Tower in Times Square shortly.” NASDAQ’s spokesperson has also confirmed that, “The Consulate General of Pakistan in New York plans to take the opportunity to broadcast a video message on the NASDAQ MarketSite Tower in the near future, and NASDAQ looks forward to continuing its show of support for the flood relief efforts in Pakistan.”
NASDAQ has already been making good on its word. On September 3, scarcely a week after its invitation to the Consul General, NASDAQ invited the American arm of the UNHCR to the Closing Bell ceremony. The UNHCR’s appeal for flood relief in Pakistan was also broadcast on the Tower, accompanied by a video featuring Hollywood actress and UNHCR Goodwill Ambassador Angelina Jolie.
Media Distortion
Accurate details about this event are widely available, including the aforementioned official NASDAQ sources, and fair coverage of the event that appeared in some newspapers, including the Business Recorder (August 26) and the Daily Times (August 27). However, the narrative that has taken hold in the Pakistani media makes little or no mention of the Consul General’s attendance at NASDAQ’s Closing Bell ceremony as the source of the images transmitted on the Tower.
It appears that Geo News was the first to question the Consul General’s actions. On August 26, Geo showed a number of images of the Consul General and commercial attaché Mr. Aamer that had appeared on the Tower the previous day. For unknown reasons, it omitted the images that included the NASDAQ officials. There are also a number of glaring discrepancies in Geo’s report. Standing in Times Square, Geo’s correspondent referred to the NASDAQ Tower behind him as a screen belonging to the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) – despite the fact that the screen was visibly flashing the word “NASDAQ” at the time. In fact, the NYSE and NASDAQ are two separate and competing stock exchanges. The Geo correspondent also asserted that the Pakistani Consulate had been given an entire hour to air a video about the floods, a claim denied by the Consulate and NASDAQ. The correspondent further claimed that an unnamed executive at the NYSE expressed dismay that Pakistan was unable to take advantage of their offer. This official allegedly stated, “I think we are stupid that we made this offer to Pakistan.” If the clumsily worded quote is indeed genuine, it is unclear what the executive was referring to, given that the Tower belongs to NASDAQ, and not the NYSE.
It appears that this story on Geo News was then adlibbed by a number of media outlets with minor changes, but without any meaningful corroboration. Some later accounts have even stood in contrast to the select images that were shown in the Pakistani media. For example, one news cast showed that the Tower displayed the message, “NASDAQ welcomes Consul General of Pakistan in New York Mr. A.S. Babar Hashmi,” a variation of a standard greeting that is displayed for most guests invited to the Closing Bell. This message has been contorted in a number of stories to instead say, “Welcome to New York from the Consul General of Pakistan Mr. A.S. Babar Hashmi.”
Political Manipulation?
The Consul General’s story has also acquired political hues, with repeated calls for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to conduct an inquiry. Further, an article in The News titled “How a generous offer was wasted” (August 30) claimed that it was not only the Consul General’s images that appeared on the screens but also those of the late Benazir Bhutto. This account is contradicted by the official NASDAQ footage of the event. The story has also been repeated in a popular op-ed in The News titled “Diplomats Without Dignity,” (September 1) where the Honourable Nosheen Saeed (MNA, PML-Q) has turned it into a searing criticism of the government. The News and Geo News are both owned by the same parent company, the Jang Group/Independent Media Corporation.
It is unclear whether political partisanship played a role in distorting the story. It is equally unclear how such disinformation entered the mainstream news-cycle, and why a number of reputable news outlets across the country accepted, and perhaps even embellished, it without adequate fact checking.
(With special thanks to Mr. Siddiq Mohammed for generously sharing his expertise on the workings of NASDAQ and the NYSE).
On August 18, NASDAQ invited the Consul General to its prestigious Closing Bell ceremony that signifies the end of the day’s trading. The invitation was sent through Pakistan’s Embassy in Washington and conveyed to the Consulate on August 20. An official NASDAQ press release issued on GlobeNewswire on August 24, 2010, provided details of the event, which was scheduled to last for fifteen minutes, from 3:45pm to 4:00pm.
On August 25, Mr. Hashmi attended at the ceremony along with his commercial attaché, Mr. Muhammad Aamer. The Closing Bell began with brief introductions by two NASDAQ officials, including Mr. Meyer Frucher, the Vice Chairman of NASDAQ OMX, the parent company that owns and operates the NASDAQ Stock Market. Mr. Frucher himself spoke about the challenges faced by Pakistan and the country’s relationship with the United States. Mr. Hashmi followed him to the rostrum and spoke for the allotted time of just over two minutes. He discussed the floods ravaging Pakistan and appealed for assistance, providing information on a donations account in the New York branch of the National Bank of Pakistan and on Pakistan International Airlines’ free relief service.
The entire event was broadcast live on the Tower, and across a number of international media outlets including on CNBC and its affiliates, Bloomberg and the Business News Network (Canada). Images from this appeal, and from a brief photo-session that had immediately followed, continued to be displayed on the NASDAQ Tower following the Closing Bell ceremony. Hence the Consul General’s pictures on the display in Times Square, alongside Mr. Aamer and NASDAQ officials. Archival footage of the entire event is freely available on NASDAQ’s website.
Speaking to the author, Mr. Aamer said that the, “media event [at NASDAQ] was no more than 15 minutes long. The Consul General was invited to only ring the closing bell of the market day of August 25, 2010, as the Chief Guest. [He] turned the simple bell ringing event into an opportunity for highlighting the plight of the flood affected people of his country.”
According to the author’s investigation, the Pakistani Consulate was given the opportunity to play a video clip on the Tower for 30 seconds, not one hour. This position has been reiterated by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in its press briefings on September 2 and September 9, and by the Consulates official press release of September 13. This information was also corroborated with NASDAQ. In an exclusive statement, a NASDAQ spokesperson stated via email that, “NASDAQ gives organizations participating in bell ceremonies the option to run a 30-second video on the NASDAQ MarketSite Tower within a given timeframe.” The spokesperson also confirmed that, “The Consulate General of Pakistan in New York provided a video message for the NASDAQ MarketSite Tower and the Closing Bell on August 25th, 2010.”
However, though a video message was provided, a 30-second clip was in fact not played on August 25. According to a Consular source, the video that the Embassy provided to the Consulate was 3-minutes long. Moreover, it was encrypted and could not be converted to a 30-second clip. As of the time of publication, the author had not received a response from the Pakistani Embassy in Washington as to why a suitable video was not provided. It seems, however, that the situation has been belatedly remedied. According to Mr. Aamer, “We have now handed over the clip to NASDAQ which they have agreed to beam on the NASDAQ Tower in Times Square shortly.” NASDAQ’s spokesperson has also confirmed that, “The Consulate General of Pakistan in New York plans to take the opportunity to broadcast a video message on the NASDAQ MarketSite Tower in the near future, and NASDAQ looks forward to continuing its show of support for the flood relief efforts in Pakistan.”
NASDAQ has already been making good on its word. On September 3, scarcely a week after its invitation to the Consul General, NASDAQ invited the American arm of the UNHCR to the Closing Bell ceremony. The UNHCR’s appeal for flood relief in Pakistan was also broadcast on the Tower, accompanied by a video featuring Hollywood actress and UNHCR Goodwill Ambassador Angelina Jolie.
Media Distortion
Accurate details about this event are widely available, including the aforementioned official NASDAQ sources, and fair coverage of the event that appeared in some newspapers, including the Business Recorder (August 26) and the Daily Times (August 27). However, the narrative that has taken hold in the Pakistani media makes little or no mention of the Consul General’s attendance at NASDAQ’s Closing Bell ceremony as the source of the images transmitted on the Tower.
It appears that Geo News was the first to question the Consul General’s actions. On August 26, Geo showed a number of images of the Consul General and commercial attaché Mr. Aamer that had appeared on the Tower the previous day. For unknown reasons, it omitted the images that included the NASDAQ officials. There are also a number of glaring discrepancies in Geo’s report. Standing in Times Square, Geo’s correspondent referred to the NASDAQ Tower behind him as a screen belonging to the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) – despite the fact that the screen was visibly flashing the word “NASDAQ” at the time. In fact, the NYSE and NASDAQ are two separate and competing stock exchanges. The Geo correspondent also asserted that the Pakistani Consulate had been given an entire hour to air a video about the floods, a claim denied by the Consulate and NASDAQ. The correspondent further claimed that an unnamed executive at the NYSE expressed dismay that Pakistan was unable to take advantage of their offer. This official allegedly stated, “I think we are stupid that we made this offer to Pakistan.” If the clumsily worded quote is indeed genuine, it is unclear what the executive was referring to, given that the Tower belongs to NASDAQ, and not the NYSE.
It appears that this story on Geo News was then adlibbed by a number of media outlets with minor changes, but without any meaningful corroboration. Some later accounts have even stood in contrast to the select images that were shown in the Pakistani media. For example, one news cast showed that the Tower displayed the message, “NASDAQ welcomes Consul General of Pakistan in New York Mr. A.S. Babar Hashmi,” a variation of a standard greeting that is displayed for most guests invited to the Closing Bell. This message has been contorted in a number of stories to instead say, “Welcome to New York from the Consul General of Pakistan Mr. A.S. Babar Hashmi.”
Political Manipulation?
The Consul General’s story has also acquired political hues, with repeated calls for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to conduct an inquiry. Further, an article in The News titled “How a generous offer was wasted” (August 30) claimed that it was not only the Consul General’s images that appeared on the screens but also those of the late Benazir Bhutto. This account is contradicted by the official NASDAQ footage of the event. The story has also been repeated in a popular op-ed in The News titled “Diplomats Without Dignity,” (September 1) where the Honourable Nosheen Saeed (MNA, PML-Q) has turned it into a searing criticism of the government. The News and Geo News are both owned by the same parent company, the Jang Group/Independent Media Corporation.
It is unclear whether political partisanship played a role in distorting the story. It is equally unclear how such disinformation entered the mainstream news-cycle, and why a number of reputable news outlets across the country accepted, and perhaps even embellished, it without adequate fact checking.
(With special thanks to Mr. Siddiq Mohammed for generously sharing his expertise on the workings of NASDAQ and the NYSE).
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