Raise a Glass to Freedom
7 min read
Employing terrorists as journalists has to stop.
There’s a good chance that some of the news you’re consuming about Israel and the current war in Gaza is being reported by so-called “journalists” who in fact are members of Hamas and other terrorist organizations.
Some of the most respected media voices in the world - including the Associated Press (AP), CNN, The New York Times, the BBC, and others - have employed people to report the news who are either terrorists or actively support terrorism. With Hamas and other terror groups tightly controlling any and all information and media access in Gaza and the West Bank, even the most respected news outlets often hire reporters no matter what their affiliations, or to repeat claims from terrorist-affiliated sources, no questions asked.
The problem is widespread and serious, coloring the globe’s perception of Israel and spreading smears against Jews and the Jewish state.
Hamas’ deadly attack on Israeli towns and communities began at 6:30am the morning of October 7, 2023. It was a quiet day with little going on: a Jewish holiday and Shabbat to boost. Offices and schools were closed across Israel and no major events were planned in the small kibbutzim (farming communities) and towns which Hamas attacked.
Yet even at the beginning of Hamas’ deadly rampage - which would soon leave 1,200 Israelis dead, many more injured, and hundreds taken hostage - international news agencies Associated Press (AP) and Reuters were reporting live from these sleep communities. How? Having international reporters from major news outlets stationed in obscure farming towns isn’t the norm on quiet holiday mornings. Both Reuters and AP have denied having any prior knowledge of Hamas’ attack, yet it seems they knowingly bought news photos and articles from “journalists” who traveled into Israel from Gaza with Hamas terrorists, and reported from the midst of the massacres, unharmed.
Later on, other major western outlets, including CNN and The New York Times, hired some of these same people as freelance journalists, despite evidence they were working alongside Hamas.
Take the prolific “journalist” Hassan Eslaiah, one of four Hamas-linked “reporters” who provided live coverage of Hamas’ massacres to AP on October 7. Previously captured in a picture with Hamas mastermind Yahya Sinwar, Eslaiah seems to have very friendly relations with Hamas at the very least, and possibly is a fully-fledged member of the terrorist group. At 5:59 am on October 7, just before Hamas commenced its attack, Eslaiah posted on Telegram the message “We wake up to the great gifts of God. The spirit has returned, and our blessings have increased.”
Despite clearly being a part of Hamas’ fighting force, AP and CNN bought Eslaiah’s photos and stories.
Soon after that, Eslaiah caught a ride on the back of a Hamas-driven motorcycle from Gaza into Israel, where he continued to post on X about Hamas’ unfolding murders, rapes, kidnappings, and attacks. In one Tweet he appeared standing in front of an Israeli tank, without wearing a press badge or protective helmet. “Live from inside the Gaza Strip settlements,” he wrote. He later wrote glowingly about Hamas’ attack.
Despite clearly being a part of Hamas’ fighting force, AP and CNN bought Eslaiah’s photos and stories. Eslaiah provided news photos of Hamas terrorists entering Kibbutz Kfar Aza, where they soon murdered scores of civilians, including children, and captured Hamas members setting fire to an Israeli house where civilians were sheltering inside. In one video, as the media watch group Honest Reporting revealed, Eslaiah is captured speaking in Arabic about a burned-out Israeli tank, saying, “Everyone who were inside this tank were kidnapped, everyone who were inside the tank were kidnapped a short while ago by al-Qassam Brigades (a division of Hamas’ army), as we have seen with our own eyes.”
Other “reporters” who provided material for AP, Reuters, CNN, and elsewhere appeared to be similarly embedded with Hamas. Ali Mahmud and Hatem Ali, who also worked for AP, for instance, were able to send AP pictures of Israeli prisoners being kidnapped and forced into Gaza by Hamas fighters.
Despite his ties to Hamas, Yousef Masoud won a prestigious George Polk Award in Journalism for his photography related to the Israel-Hamas war that was published in the New York Times.
As Israel’s war with Hamas grinds on, much of the world’s press is repeating Hamas claims as independently verified facts, disseminating news stories that parrot Hamas’ propaganda.
It’s crucial to realize that there is no independent press sector in Gaza. In 2016, Human Rights Watch reported that “Palestinian authorities in the West Bank and Gaza are arresting, abusing, and criminally charging journalists and activists who express peaceful criticism of the authorities” and “in Gaza, forbidding journalists from reporting on certain issues or stories.” In 2022, Al-Monitor documented Hamas officials arresting and abusing journalists who tried to report about Hamas’ corruption.
Given the absence of independent journalistic voices in Gaza, news outlets around the world simply repeat Hamas’ claims as fact.
Given this absence of independent journalistic voices in Gaza, news outlets around the world simply repeat Hamas’ claims as fact. Take the Washington Post. In an October 24, 2023 article, they parroted Hamas’ claims about the numbers of Gazans killed in Israeli airstrikes, labeling their source the bland-sounding “according to Palestinian authorities.” Readers following the link for this claim, however, arrive at an official Hamas Facebook Page.
Newspapers, television and radio stations, and news sites continue to repeat Hamas’ claims about the increasing death toll during the war in Gaza. In a recent article repeating Hamas death figures, for instance, PBS simply called Hamas the “Health Ministry”. PBS noted that “the ministry does not distinguish between civilians and combatants in its records, but says that around two-thirds of those killed were women and children.” This whitewashing of Hamas and treating the terror group as a dispassionate and credible source is damaging, leading news consumers to trust Hamas, to mistrust Israel, and conditioning us to accept Hamas’ claims.
As the war in Gaza continues, news outlets are making ever bolder claims about Israeli actions - often parroting terrorist-affiliated groups.
For instance, one February 22, 2024 article in The Guardian accused Israeli troops of “executing” an innocent Palestinian schoolboy, shooting him in cold blood for no reason. Their source? The group Defense for Children International - Palestine, a worthy sounding organization, but one that’s been documented to have “numerous individuals” who are members of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, which is designated a terrorist organization by the USA, Canada, European Union, and other nations.
In the face of so much misinformation, we can all work to hold news outlets accountable.
Some people who were directly affected by Hamas’ October 7 attacks are fighting back in the courts. In February 2024, relatives of Israelis who were kidnapped or killed, and survivors of the attack, sued AP for knowingly buying photos from Hamas affiliated people they then called “journalists”. Although AP has denied it and its reporters had any advanced knowledge of Hamas’ attack, they have removed the names of some of the photographers and journalists they credited on October 7 from their archived stories about that day. CNN has ended its journalistic relationship with Hassan Eslaiah, who traveled into Israel along with Hamas fighters (but not before insisting they do not have “any reason to doubt the journalistic accuracy of the work he has done for us.)
As news consumers, we can fight against coverage that excuses Hamas. Write to the editor to complain each time you read or hear biased coverage. Point out that Hamas and other terrorist groups are not credible sources for information. Post on social media and speak up. Don’t give up in the face of false and distorted coverage. It’s up to all of us to help set the record straight.
Thank you for informing us with precision about this sorry state of affairs, which is vicious and very dangerous.
Yes, the newspapers are to blame for spreading misinformation.
It’s about sensationalism to make them buy newspapers. It’s always be like this.
No, there was a narrow window during the late 1960’s when journalistic integrity was a big issue and many reporters were careful to be both accurate and balanced. A number of ethical “regulations” for journalism were formulated and adopted by the American Association of Journalism.
Today, of course, all that has long been discarded.
Dr. Altman is truly a professional journalist of the highest order. Her writings are always informative, insightful, and most revealing. Please continue to print her articles.
Gaza's Health system has reportedly been totally disrupted and, yet, has been able to keep a running total of all deaths, to the last person - figures end with ...23.
Even in Israel, with first world facilities, was not able to give accurate figures on the victims right away and correcting 1400 to 1200 is a large margin of error. You can only imagine how large the Gaza margin of error is.
In Gaza I think they simply decided "lets add 157 to the number of dead each day".
The problem is, most of the lame-stream press are Islamo-Nazis and, since these agencies are as well, they would report the same regardless. They don't need sources, and can just make them up as they go. As far as I am concerned, of all the horrible crimes being committed in this country, the absolute worst are the so-called news agencies, that would not report the truth if you held guns to their heads.
I can only think that HaShem has permitted these events in order to show us and teach us who our true enemies are.
The sheer extent of anti-semitism in America, particularly on the Left, has been a revelation for all of us.