The New York Times is facing significant criticism and public humiliation from its initial reporting on the Gaza hospital bombing incident. The newspaper had originally published a headline suggesting Israel’s involvement: “Israeli Strike Kills Hundreds in Hospital, Palestinians Say.” The narrative, however, was quickly challenged by both U.S. and Israeli intelligence, and now, a week later, the publication has put out a statement recognizing its failures after plenty of backlash.
The latest evidence suggests that the missile launch originated from Palestinian fighter positions within Gaza and not from Israeli military positions. The Israelis denied involvement immediately, and Hamas fighters seemed to acknowledge Islamic Jihad as the perpetrator in audio recordings. This put the New York Times’ reporting accuracy under scrutiny, an unfortunate reality for the liberal paper that could not go unaddressed.
In an editor’s note today, the Times admitted to their mistakes:
On Oct. 17, The New York Times published news of an explosion at a hospital in Gaza City, leading its coverage with claims by Hamas government officials that an Israeli airstrike was the cause and that hundreds of people were dead or injured. The report included a large headline at the top of The Times’s website.
Israel subsequently denied being at fault and blamed an errant rocket launch by the Palestinian faction group Islamic Jihad, which has in turn denied responsibility. American and other international officials have said their evidence indicates that the rocket came from Palestinian fighter positions.
The Times’s initial accounts attributed the claim of Israeli responsibility to Palestinian officials, and noted that the Israeli military said it was investigating the blast. However, the early versions of the coverage — and the prominence it received in a headline, news alert and social media channels — 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.
The Times continued to update its coverage as more information became available, reporting the disputed claims of responsibility and noting that the death toll might be lower than initially reported. Within two hours, the headline and other text at the top of the website reflected the scope of the explosion and the dispute over responsibility.
Given the sensitive nature of the news during a widening conflict, and the prominent promotion it received, Times editors should have taken more care with the initial presentation, and been more explicit about what information could be verified. Newsroom leaders continue to examine procedures around the biggest breaking news events — including for the use of the largest headlines in the digital report — to determine what additional safeguards may be warranted.
The Times, as the note mentions, did eventually report that U.S. officials and Israel proposed that an Islamic terrorist group was responsible for the deadly blast.
A week ago the Times also came under fire for its portrayal of Hamas. Initially, the publication described Hamas as “terrorists,” but later amended the term to “gunmen.” The change was met with backlash prompting the NYT to revert to its original descriptor.
Despite the gravity of the situation, where over 1,000 people (including women and children) were killed, the NYT’s decision was perceived by many as an attempt to downplay the severity of Hamas’s actions.
The New York Times was quick to blame Israel.https://t.co/oUD33RPD0x
— Kyle Becker (@kylenabecker) October 18, 2023
Several Arab leaders, including Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, Jordanian King Abdullah II, and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, withdrew from scheduled meetings with President Joe Biden in the aftermath of the bombing.