More Than 80 Media Outlets Correct AP’s False Claim That Gaza’s Civilian Deaths Exceed 40,000

In their Aug. 18 article covering differences between the presidential platforms of Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump,  Will Weissert, Jill Colvin and Seung Min Kim wrongly reported (“Harris and Trump offer worlds-apart contrasts on top issues in presidential race“):

But the vice president might also have helped defuse some backlash by progressives by being more vocal about the need to better protect civilians during fighting in Gaza, where the civilian death toll has now exceeded 40,000. (Emphasis added.)

Not even Hamas has claimed that the civilian death toll has now exceeded 40,000. The Hamas-controlled Ministry of Health in Gaza has claimed without evidence that total fatalities exceed 40,000 but their highly disputed data does not distinguish between civilians and combatants. According to Israeli figures, more than 17,000 Hamas combatants have been killed. The falsehood fuels the grotesque demonization of Israel charging the Jewish state with genocide.

As AP’s Joseph Krauss noted in a separate article also Aug. 18: “Israel’s offensive has killed over 40,000 Palestinians in Gaza, according to local health officials, who do not say how many were militants.” [Emphasis added.]

In response to communication from CAMERA, AP commendably corrected the article on Aug. 19. The updated text states:

More than 40,000 Palestinians have been killed in the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza, the territory’s Hamas-controlled Health Ministry says, but how many are civilians is unknown. The ministry does not distinguish between civilians and militants in its count. Israel says it has killed more than 17,000 militants in the war.

In addition, a correction appended to the bottom of the article alerts readers:

This story was first published on Aug. 18, 2024. It was updated on Aug. 19, 2024, to correct the reference to the civilian death toll from the war in Gaza, which is unknown. The Hamas-controlled Health Ministry says more than 40,000 Palestinians have been killed in the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza, but it does not distinguish between militants and civilians in its count.

Media outlets which subsequently published AP’s correction include ABC, Washington Times, Seattle Times, Santa Maria Times, Huron Daily Tribune, Caledonian Record, Bowling Green Daily News, Hastings Tribune, San Mateo Daily Journal, Anchorage Daily News, KHQ (NBC Washington), Hamilton County Herald, Aspen Daily News, Daily Item (Pennsylvania), News-Gazette (Illinois), Detroit News, Bluefield Daily Telegraph (West Virginia), Intelligencer/Wheeling News Register, KLAS 8 News Now, Kentucky Today, The Hill, Oskaloosa Herald, Fox59, Yahoo News Canada, KGET (NBC), WNCT, WTOP News, Fox8 WGHP (North Carolina), Press Democrat (California), WSAV3 (NBC), KRQE (New Mexico), Union-Bulletin (Washington), CW39 Houston, WOWK-TV (West Virginia), Central Illinois Proud, WKRG (CBS Alabama), WMBB (ABC Florida), KNWA Fox24 (Arkansas), CT Insider, Meadville Tribune, Hometown News Group (Wisconsin), WHEC (NBC Rochester), Galveston County Daily News, Colorado Politics, The Columbian (Washington), Joplin Globe (Missouri), WWLP (NBC Massachusetts), WBAL (NBC Maryland), KTLA, NewsNation, WIVB (CBS New York), WNCN (CBS 17 North Carolina), WJET (ABC Pennsylvania), Atlanta Journal-Constitution, KSN (NBC Kansas), Cumberland Times-News (Maryland), WYTV (ABC Ohio), WGNO (ABC New Orleans), KTVN (CBS Nevada), Quincy Herald-Whig (Illinois), WSLS (NBC Virginia), Northern Virginia Daily, San Antonio Express-News, KULR (NBC Montana), KPRC (NBC Houston), WDIV (NBC Detroit), Yakima Herald-Republic (Washington), Dayton Daily News, WDRB (Fox Kentucky), WKMG (CBS Orlando), Chronicle Telegram (Ohio), WKBT-DT (CBS Wisconsin), Enid News & Eagle (Oklahoma) WFMZ (Pennsylvania), AOL, Norwalk Hour (Connecticut), Goshen News (Indiana), KOB (NBC New Mexico), Higher Ground Times (a sister publication of The Washington Times), Hamilton Spectator (Ontario), and MSN. The scores of corrections are the most that CAMERA has prompted at once from a single wire service story.

While many local NBC affiliates were among those to correct, NBC has failed to correct the falsehood on its local news sites including in Los Angeles, Chicago, San Diego, New York, and Bay Area. CAMERA continues to urge NBC to correct the egregious falsehood which AP itself has already corrected. Stay tuned for an update.