“Israeli strike kills hundreds in hospital, Palestinians say” is the headline that the New York Times ran on its story reporting the errant Palestinian Islamic Jihad rocket that Hamas turned to its own use in the information war. It wasn’t an Israeli air strike, it was the hospital parking lot that was hit, we don’t know how many casualties were sustained, and it was Hamas that “said” it. However, we do know that the Times was not alone in taking the word of “Palestinians” or “Gaza officials” — i.e., Hamas, at face value regarding the incident.
The Washington Free Beacon’s Drew Holden now compiles a list of “the media outlets that uncritically regurgitated Hamas propaganda.” Holden documents the contributions of Reuters, the Times, MSNBC, CNN, Politico, Axios, the Associated Press, and the BBC. Holden flagged his story on X/Twitter. The contribution of Reuters is particularly damaging.
Few outlets have as great a reach as @Reuters, who rushed to parrot Hamas talking points to the world when the explosion happened. pic.twitter.com/XJPYDt4HyZ
— Drew Holden (@DrewHolden360) October 18, 2023
And also that of the Associated Press.
The one outlet who rivals their reach is @AP — who did the same thing, repeating what they had been told by Hamas. pic.twitter.com/OmUmGI1FBF
— Drew Holden (@DrewHolden360) October 18, 2023
I think the New York Times deserves special recognition. Say what about disinformation? All the fake news that’s fit to print.
Perhaps the most egregious disinformation came from @nytimes. Not only did they rush to quote Hamas in their headline and tweet, as @HillelNeuer points out, they made it their website homepage. pic.twitter.com/DltewYUm86
— Drew Holden (@DrewHolden360) October 18, 2023
Truth dies in the darkness of the Washington Post.
More of the same from Washington’s paper of record, @washingtonpost.
Why would anyone take “Palestinian authorities” – which translates to Hamas, to be clear – at their word? pic.twitter.com/yp4ukM1RNh
— Drew Holden (@DrewHolden360) October 18, 2023
Let’s not forget the Wall Street Journal.
Look how the Wall Street Journal changed their headlines pic.twitter.com/f2nUYLXkIt
— StewMama✈ Cari- Radically Moderate (@StewMama71) October 18, 2023
Holden’s story also noted the contributions of individual journalists including Washington Post reporter Evan Hill and columnist Karen Attiah. Holden’s useful story here is accompanied by Thaleigha Rampersad’s video compilation below.
UPDATE: We’re not quite done with the New York Times yet.
Yesterday, when @NYTimes published a fictitious story from Hamas about Israel bombing a hospital, NYT used a picture from a completely different location to make it look like a picture of the hospital that was “destroyed.” Astonishing disinformation and journalistic malpractice. pic.twitter.com/5iQLBMIFkN
— Michael P Senger (@michaelpsenger) October 18, 2023
Notice: All comments are subject to moderation. Our comments are intended to be a forum for civil discourse bearing on the subject under discussion. Commenters who stray beyond the bounds of civility or employ what we deem gratuitous vulgarity in a comment — including, but not limited to, “s***,” “f***,” “a*******,” or one of their many variants — will be banned without further notice in the sole discretion of the site moderator.