The New York Times has issued an editors’ note retracting its initial coverage of the explosion that killed hundreds of Palestinians at a Gaza Strip hospital last week.
Furthermore, the newspaper admitted to relying too heavily on claims made by the Hamas militant group.
“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,” the editors’ note published on Monday. Early coverage “relied too heavily on claims by Hamas, and did not make clear that those claims could not immediately be verified.”
The New York Times wasn’t alone in facing criticism as other outlets such as Reuters and The Associated Press faced criticism for publishing Hamas’ viewpoint prominently in articles and on social media.
Fox News’ Howard Kurtz shared his thoughts on the newspaper’s retraction on his Media Buzz Meter podcast. Kurtz notes that while he’s glad that The New York Times issued a correction, he claims that no one has faced the consequences yet for the mishap, which has had real-life effects.
“I credit the Times for doing this,” Kurtz said. “It took days, and I’m not taking credit for it. But I was one of the more prominent voices saying this is unacceptable. And lots of criticism, of course, from other quarters. The reason this is important is we look at the real world consequences, and nobody’s been held accountable.”
Eduardo Razo is the Assistant Content Editor for BNM, which includes writing daily news stories on the news media industry. He can be found on Twitter @eddierazo_ or you can reach him by email at eddie1991razo@gmail.com.
