Leading media jumped to conclusions in chaos surrounding hospital explosion in Gaza

A boulevard newspaper of all things, the German one Image, this week the serious press could be lectured. Because many leading media in Europe and the United States made a serious mistake on Tuesday evening, with their first reporting on the explosion at the Ahli Arab hospital in Gaza.

In a comment with the headline ‘A shame for journalism!’ wrote Paul Ronzheimer, deputy editor-in-chief of Bild: “The best newspaper in the world, The New York Times, sent an alert message with the headline ‘Israeli attack kills hundreds in hospital, Palestinians say’.” While there was no evidence that an Israeli attack was indeed the cause of the tragedy. “These headlines are dangerous, including for all Jews living in Germany,” Ronzheimer said.

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Was it an Israeli attack or Palestinian missile? This is what is known so far about the explosion at a hospital in Gaza

Ronzheimer also showed up against the authoritative Deutschlandfunk in Germany. Because the public radio station had in a message reported: ‘Hamas says hundreds of people have been killed in an Israeli airstrike in the Gaza Strip.’ “ACOR HAMAS! Imagine: Deutschlandfunk quotes terrorists as if they were a serious source of information.”

Hasty conclusions

Bild itself had first called Israel and “the other side,” the journalist wrote, and determined that for the time being there could only be talk of an explosion. The tabloid is not known for its careful journalistic methods, but it will not easily portray Israel in a bad light. As part of the Axel Springer publishing group, which has traditionally been strongly pro-Israel, all editors at Bild must be aware in their employment contract to “support the Jewish people and Israel’s right to exist.”

Devastation at the Ahli Arab hospital in Gaza City, a day after a rocket exploded in the parking lot last Tuesday.

It is impossible to say whether that played a role on Tuesday evening. But in any case, the magazine did not – as many other media did – jump to conclusions about the tragedy at the hospital, or follow the alarm message from The New York Times under time pressure in the confusing situation.

Many media outlets based their findings on the health authorities in Gaza, which, like the entire administration of the territory, is under the control of Hamas. Since the massacre carried out by Hamas in Israel on October 7, the Gaza Strip has come under heavy fire from the Israeli air force, and there are hardly any foreign journalists who can take stock on the spot.

Dutch media also made a mistake on Tuesday evening. Below that too NRC, which wrote about “what is seen as a targeted attack,” with which “Israel appears to have crossed a new line.” The next day the piece was corrected and amended, the ombudsman discusses the issue in his column.

Things initially went wrong at NOS as well. An online message reported “an Israeli airstrike” around half past seven on Tuesday evening. It was later added that the news had not yet been independently confirmed, but the headline continued to mention an attack. The message received additional distribution because it was read out on TV in the talk show Khalid & Sophie.

NOS editor-in-chief Giselle van Cann later acknowledged in the radio program This is the day that “we have not made it sufficiently clear that Hamas, the health authority, says it is an Israeli airstrike. We could have been a little more careful in the wording.” It Eight o’clock news was more cautious half an hour later: “A hospital in Gaza has been hit by one or more rockets.”

Newspapers taken to measure

Also The Wall Street JournalCNN, Al Jazeera and the BBC had to go back on initial reporting. “I’m afraid that the media made a bad situation even worse on Tuesday,” said American media journalist Brian Stelter (until last year a presenter at CNN) in response to what he described as “a horrible series of mistakes made by all kinds of editors.”

Stelter be there in a TV interview that when there is little information available, interest is greatest. “And when we finally know the facts, people are already busy with other things. Now it got even worse, because the more the stakes, the lower the bar. While it should be the other way around. War is already hell, it should not be made worse by incorrect reporting.”

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A front page that NRC could no longer defend the next morning

Since the start of the current war between Israel and Hamas, social media has been widely criticized in the traditional press for the enormous amounts of misinformation it spreads. There was also plenty of fake news on social media on Tuesday evening. But at the same time, X (formerly Twitter) and other social media newspapers and TV channels with great reputations for solid reporting were being measured. They were quickly and in strong terms reminded of their unsubstantiated reports: in addition to the attribution of the explosion to an Israeli attack, also the equally unsubstantiated number of hundreds or even five hundred victims.

Bill Grueskin, professor of journalism at Columbia University in New York, warned in The New York Times that journalists should be “extremely careful” when reporting on the war between Israel and Hamas, and clarify where their information comes from. “Especially when it comes from formal channels that have a vested interest in spreading a particular point of view.”