UK media denounced for 'killed by who?' double standard: Gaza coverage
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A CfMM media analyst condemned the coverage of 'Israel' as the victim in mainstream media, criticizing news outlets' stance on the occupation while comparing it to the Russia-Ukraine conflict
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Protesters gather outside the BBC Scotland building to show solidarity with the Palestinian people, in Glasgow on October 14, 2023. (AFP)
UK mainstream media is under fire once again for its coverage of "Israel's" genocide on Gaza, sparking controversy for its journalistic biases that promote double standards through misinformation.
"The coverage of Gaza has several noticeable features. There have been instances of misleading and factually incorrect information being published throughout the last 10 months," media analyst at the Centre for Media Monitoring (CfMM) Faisal Hanif told Anadolu.
Last month, "Israel" killed two four-day-old newborn twins at their parents' apartment in central Gaza in an airstrike as their father went to collect their birth certificates.
Western mainstream news outlets, including the BBC and Sky News, did not mention "Israeli strikes" in their headlines on their social media posts, prompting online users to ask "Killed by who?"
Hanif highlighted that many Western news outlets continue to refer to a fabricated story presented at the beginning of the Israeli aggression on Gaza, claiming Palestinian Resistance group Hamas "beheaded babies."
The media analyst emphasized that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu referred to the debunked narrative in his address to the US Congress in July, which the BBC reported verbatim without providing context for readers that investigative journalists determined the story to be a fabrication.
British media omitting information
Essentially, this occurrence is referred to as "the omission of information," another prominent phenomenon shaping British media's coverage of Gaza, especially in headlines when the occupation is the perpetrator.
"Often, we have seen this is not mentioned, whereas in the case with Ukraine and Russia, the Russians are clearly identified as the party which is doing the killing," Hanif noted, criticizing both the media and external parties, such as politicians, who defend Ukraine against Russian while failing to take a similar stance during the ongoing genocide.
"Many readers have noticed this double standard from some of the most reputable publishers and news outlets," Hanif said.
He also emphasized that the selective use of language is "a major problematic area," revealing the underlying biases of news outlets.
"The way Oct. 7 is described with emotive and alarming terms such as ‘brutal,’ ‘barbaric’ and ‘slaughter’ is in stark contrast with the murder of over 40,000 Gazans, which is sometimes little more than a footnote in mentions or described as ‘unfortunate,’" Hanif added.
The CfMM's Gaza 2023-24 report published in March revealed "significant biases in media coverage" within the UK concerning the Israeli occupation of Palestine, highlighting that British media depict Israelis as victims of attacks 11 times more than Palestinians.
Top CNN journalists call out CNN for 'Israel' bias: The Intercept
A leaked recording of a recent meeting obtained by The Intercept, demonstrates an uproar by CNN staff, including renowned international news anchor Christiane Amanpour, who called out network executives for failings in covering the war on Gaza.
At CNN’s London Bureau on February 13, a panel of executives was under questioning for the network's protocols for covering the war, namely the presence of a hostile environment for Arab reporters.
According to The Intercept, back in January, the protocol, through which CNN's news on Gaza is first sent to their bureau in occupied al-Quds before publishing, has been expanded and rebranded as SecondEyes. The protocol filters reporting about the war through journalists in al-Quds who operate under the "Israel’s" military censor.
Amanpour told the panel, “You’ve heard from me, you’ve heard my, you know, real distress with SecondEyes — changing copy, double standards, and all the rest,” adding, “So you’ve heard it, and I hear what your response is and I hope it does go a long way.”
Another journalist in the recording chimed in by saying, “I was in southern Lebanon during October and November... And it was more distressing for me to turn on CNN, than the bombs falling nearby.”
The journalist continued, “I find that my colleagues, my family, are platforming people over and over again, that are either calling for my death, or using very dehumanizing language against me … and people that look like me. And obviously, this has a huge impact in our credibility in the region.”
