NYT Says Coverage of Gaza Hospital Blast Gave 'Incorrect Impression' of Facts
Summary from the AllSides News Team
The New York Times (Lean Left bias) stated Monday that its initial coverage of the explosion at a Gaza hospital last week gave an “incorrect impression” of the known facts.
For Context: Last Tuesday, the Palestinian Ministry of Health, a Hamas-controlled organization, claimed at least 500 people had been killed by an Israeli airstrike on the Al Ahli Arab Hospital in Gaza City. This claim was picked up widely in Western news outlets and around the world, including the New York Times, which reported the claim prominently. The Israeli government denied blame and said it was an Islamic Jihad projectile that caused the blast and that the casualty reports were exaggerated. U.S. intelligence agreed with Israel's assessment. The incident sparked backlash against major news outlets.
Key Quotes: In the New York Times Editor’s note, the outlet said the initial reporting “relied too heavily on claims by Hamas, and did not make clear that those claims could not immediately be verified. The report left readers with an incorrect impression about what was known and how credible the account was.” It goes on to state that the editors “should have taken more care with the initial presentation, and been more explicit about what information could be verified.”
How the Media Covered It: The note was covered moderately across the spectrum. The Daily Wire (Right bias) stated the initial coverage “helped fuel anti-Israel protests.” Mediaite (Lean Left bias) called the editor’s note a “rare step.”
Featured Coverage of this Story
From the Left
New York Times Admits in Editors’ Note It ‘Relied Too Heavily’ on Hamas Claims About Hospital Blast
The New York Times took the rare step of publishing a stand-alone editors’ note addressing its coverage of the attack on a hospital in Gaza believed to have killed hundreds of people.
The Times first reported news of the explosion at Gaza City’s al-Ahli hospital on Oct. 17. At the time, the Times and other major outlets, like the Associated Press, reported the information they had: That the Gaza Health Ministry, which is overseen by terror group Hamas, claimed the mass casualty attack was the result of an Israeli airstrike....
From the Right
NYT Concedes Too Much Reliance on Hamas Claims For Hospital Blast
The New York Times acknowledged on Monday that it “relied too heavily” on claims made by Hamas when reporting on an explosion at a hospital in the Gaza Strip last week.
In an editor’s note, the publication said it should not have depended so much on government officials affiliated with Hamas to initially report that Israeli forces conducted an airstrike on October 17 that hit the Gaza City hospital and killed hundreds of people. The early account received a “large headline” at the top of the newspaper’s website, the note...
From the Center
New York Times publishes note on coverage of Gaza hospital blast
The New York Times published a lengthy editor’s note Monday responding to criticism of its coverage of a deadly blast at a hospital in Gaza last week amid the ongoing fighting between Israel and Hamas.
The Times wrote that its initial coverage of the explosion Oct. 17 — and accompanying headline, news alerts and social posts — “relied too heavily on claims by Hamas, and did not make clear that those claims could not immediately be verified.”
“The report left readers with an incorrect impression about what was known and...
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