An open letter to Queen Rania of Jordan, who in a CNN interview decried alleged Israeli "shelling" of Palestinian civilians in Gaza, raising the question of whether she is aware of how her late father-in-law King Hussein defeated a PLO uprising in Jordan by shelling and flattening Palestinian refugee camps, and expelling many of the survivors, including PLO Chairman Yasir Arafat, to Lebanon.
Media outlets, including CNN, cannot simply treat UN and ICC figures as neutral, unbiased sources whose claims can be left uncontextualized or unchallenged. In times of war, journalists must be extra careful, too. To do otherwise is to risk playing a part in Hamas’ cynical use of human shields and civilian deaths.
After the worst massacre of the Jewish people since the Holocaust, whose voices did CNN’s Alaa Elassar choose to elevate? The fringe Jews dedicated to delegitimizing the Jewish state and justifying the acts of terrorism committed against it.
Focusing on NPR's coverage of a single incident – the deadly explosion that took place near the Al-Ahli hospital in Hamas-run Gaza – this detailed analysis is a case study of the methods NPR reporters use to bolster an anti-Israel narrative and run interference for Israel’s enemies.
After setting forth the dueling governmental claims, TIME relayed that a New York Times investigation into the blast was inconclusive, but omits the extensive and fairly conclusive report of the Associated Press.
The Washington Post's World View is thoroughly distorted. The newspaper continues to treat Hamas casualty claims as reliable. And columnist Ishaan Tharoor insists on giving the genocidal terrorist group the benefit of the doubt.
CNN can’t help itself. Last week, the network was caught uncritically spreading Hamas’s propaganda that Israel struck Al-Ahli hospital on October 17th. A week later, CNN is back at it, once again spreading Hamas claims, but this time deceiving its audience into thinking the terrorist organization's casualty figures came from a legitimate, independent source.
An AP "fact check" report is unironically headlined: "Misinformation about the Israel-Hamas war. Here are the facts." Far from supplying the facts, today's "fact check" conceals known facts, bringing us back to the worst of last week's coverage of Hamas' Al Ahli hospital misinformation campaign.
Spreading Hamas propaganda without qualification or context is no different than uncritically airing Islamic State propaganda. Journalists must clearly articulate to their audiences that when they use Hamas casualty figures, they are relying on an internationally designated terrorist organization. The public should know those important factors that weigh on the credibility of such significant claims.
After Hillary Manning, Los Angeles Times' VP of communications, defended the paper as "committed to the standards of accuracy and fairness," and promised "journalistic rigor, fairness and compassion," the paper continues to pump out coverage of Israel and Hamas which indicates otherwise.
