New York Times says it relied too heavily on Hamas claims about bombings – Deadline

The New York Times

The New York Times admitted it “relied too heavily” on Hamas’s claims about the source of last week’s explosion at Al-Ahli Hospital in Gaza, as the Times and other major media outlets came under fire for initial reporting about the blast.

Initial reports in The Times, Reuters, and the Associated Press were led by claims by Hamas government officials that the airstrike was Israeli.

In a note to the editor, the Times wrote that “early versions of the coverage — and the notoriety it received in headlines, in news alerts and on social media channels — relied too heavily on Hamas claims, and did not make clear that those claims could be so.” It cannot be verified immediately. The report left readers with an incorrect impression about what was known and how reliable the account was.

Israel denied responsibility for the explosion and blamed it on a stray missile fired by the Islamic Jihad movement. The United States and other countries also concluded that the explosion came from inside Gaza.

Last week, National Security Council spokeswoman Adrienne Watson wrote on Which occurred at 12:00 GMT.” hospital in Gaza yesterday.” An AP analysis concluded that the explosion “most likely resulted” from a missile fired from inside Gaza.

Initial reports by The Times and other major media outlets, which highlighted the Hamas government’s claims in the headlines, sparked widespread criticism for giving such weight to unverified allegations.

“The Times has continued to update its coverage as more information becomes available, reporting disputed claims of responsibility and noting that the death toll may be lower than initially reported,” the editors’ note said. “Within two hours, the headline and other text at the top of the site reflected the scale of the explosion and the dispute over responsibility.”

The memo concluded that the editors “should have paid more attention to the initial presentation and been clearer about what information could be verified.”

“Newsroom leaders continue to examine procedures for the largest breaking news events — including the use of the largest headlines in digital reporting — to determine what additional safeguards may be warranted,” the memo said.