Greg Bouwer
IINZ
There was a time when journalism was guided by a simple but vital principle: get it right before you publish. Fact checking was the hallmark of credibility. Today, that ethic has been pushed aside in favour of a culture of immediacy and outrage. In the digital age, clicks matter more than accuracy, and being first matters more than being right. Nowhere is this decline more stark – or more damaging – than in the reporting on Israel.
The Hamas Source Problem
Hamas is a proscribed terror organisation, recognised as such by New Zealand, the United States, the European Union, and many others. Yet major international outlets regularly publish Hamas-supplied statistics and casualty figures as though they were neutral data. The Gaza Health Ministry – run entirely by Hamas – is treated as a credible source, even though its claims routinely collapse under later scrutiny. Time and again, newsrooms that would normally demand multiple independent confirmations for a story instead rush to broadcast Hamas’s narrative uncritically.
The Speed of Lies
This is precisely what Hamas relies on. They understand better than most the truth of the old saying: a lie can travel halfway around the world before the truth has even got its shoes on. When the Al-Ahli Hospital explosion in October 2023 was immediately – and falsely – blamed on Israel, the world’s media splashed the accusation across front pages and news alerts. Days later, when overwhelming evidence showed the explosion was caused by a misfired Palestinian rocket, the correction was buried. But the damage was done: protests had erupted, diplomatic fallout had spread, and millions were left believing a falsehood.
Outrage Lasts Longer Than Truth
This pattern has repeated itself throughout the current war. Wild accusations of genocide, starvation campaigns, or indiscriminate targeting are published on the back of Hamas press releases, only for the facts to later undermine them. Yet the outrage outlives the correction. A retraction tucked away in an editor’s note cannot undo the visceral image burned into public consciousness by a sensationalist headline. Hamas knows this and has weaponised it, turning the media into an unwitting amplifier of its propaganda.
The Consequences of Negligence
This isn’t just sloppy journalism – it has real-world consequences. By laundering Hamas’s claims through respectable mastheads, the media lends legitimacy to a terrorist narrative and shapes international opinion against Israel. This feeds diplomatic isolation, emboldens antisemitic movements worldwide, and undermines the possibility of honest dialogue about the conflict. In effect, the failure of journalistic standards becomes a weapon of war.
A Call for Integrity
Israel, like any democracy, is not beyond criticism. But criticism must be rooted in fact, not in the talking points of a terror regime. Responsible journalism requires scepticism, verification, and a commitment to truth even when it is less sensational. Until the media reclaims those values, Hamas will continue to manipulate headlines, and Israel will continue to be slandered on the world stage.
If journalism is to serve the public good rather than terrorist propaganda, it must rediscover its first duty: to tell the truth.
This article was originally published by the Israel Institute of New Zealand.
