Headline Roundup • October 10th, 2023
How to Avoid Manipulation When Reading Coverage of Hamas Attacks on Israel
Summary from the AllSides News Team
Over 1,000 people have died in the Hamas militant group's attacks on Israel and in Israel's subsequent bombing of the Gaza Strip. Here's how U.S. media is covering it differently.
Preparation: Some left- and center-rated sources focused on reports that Israel was unprepared for the assault and that its authorities are scrambling to track down kidnapping victims. Right-rated sources focused less on that angle. Many across the spectrum highlighted sources who suggested Iran helped Hamas coordinate the attacks.
Attacks and Response: Many sources highlighted details of kidnappings, murders, and sexual assaults of Israelis by Hamas. Many also prominently covered Israel ordering a "complete siege" of Gaza, with some left-rated sources highlighting poverty in Gaza, the potential civilian death toll, and reports of a surge of support for Palestine across the Middle East. Some right-rated outlets focused on how the attacks may spell trouble for the Biden administration.
Militants or Terrorists? Right-rated sources usually referred to Hamas as a terror group and the attacks as terrorism. Left- and center-rated sources didn't, and instead used the term "militants."
Why the Differences?: The American left is generally more sympathetic toward Palestine and views Israel as oppressive. The American right tends to side with Israel against what they see as extremism in Gaza. Read more about this divide from our RedBlue Translator.
Featured Coverage of this Story
Jack Guez / AFP via Getty Images
As one of the largest invasions in 50 years unfolded on the streets, sea and skies over Israel, misinformation about the assault proliferated on social media.
In one instance, a widely circulated video of an Israeli airstrike was said to show a retaliation to Saturday's surprise attack by Palestinian group Hamas, which has left hundreds dead.
“BREAKING: Israeli Air Force is striking terror targets in Gaza,” read the caption of the video, which was shared on Facebook and social media platform X. But the video was from airstrikes that happened in May, Reuters...
Fifty years on from the Yom Kippur War, which began with a surprise attack on Israel by Egypt and Syria, Palestinian militants have launched a major assault.
This too was unexpected, on another Jewish holiday.
Tensions had recently risen in the Gaza Strip, but the conventional wisdom was that neither Hamas, the Islamist group which governs there, nor Israel wanted an escalation.
Instead, Hamas had been planning a sophisticated, coordinated operation.
Early on Saturday morning, as an intense barrage of rockets was launched with some reaching as far away as...
An email from the Canadian Broadcast Corporation (CBC), a publicly funded news outlet, instructed journalists to avoid using the word “terrorist” in their coverage of the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas.
“Do not refer to militants, soldiers, or anyone else as ‘terrorists,'” George Achi, the Director of Journalistic Standards with CBC News, told employees in an email sent midday Saturday. “The notion of terrorism remains highly politicized and is part of the story. Even when quoting/clipping a government or a source referring to fighters as ‘terrorists,’ we should add context...
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