Key Takeaways:
- When language betrays truth: The BBC’s “hostage exchange” slip wasn’t the only line they crossed.
- From misinformation to moral collapse: How The New York Times and BBC twisted a day of joy into shame.
- Why it matters: Even when the war ends, the bias doesn’t – and that’s why HonestReporting remains essential.
For Israelis — and many around the world — Monday, October 13, was a day of profound relief. Hamas finally released the last of the Israeli hostages it was holding, in exchange for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners, many of them convicted murderers serving life sentences for some of the most gruesome terror attacks in Israel’s history.
It was a bittersweet day. While many families were reunited, others were left grieving – including one Nepalese family who received only the remains of their loved one. Still, it was a day that symbolized an end to two long years of war in Gaza — the war Hamas began with its October 7 massacre — and much of the media covered it with appropriate sensitivity. The hostages were released without the vile “stage shows” Hamas had orchestrated in previous exchanges, and the Trump-brokered ceasefire that made it possible was widely praised.
But some major outlets — notably the BBC and The New York Times — managed to mar even this moment of hope with shameful reporting.
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BBC’s On-Air Equivocation: “Hostage Exchange” and Terror Apologism
During live coverage, the BBC’s Chief Political Correspondent Henry Zeffman referred to the prisoner-hostage swap as a simple “hostage exchange,” suggesting a moral equivalence between the Israeli civilians kidnapped by Hamas and the convicted terrorists released by Israel.
It may have been a slip of the tongue — the sort that happens in live broadcasting — as Zeffman was reporting from outside the UK Prime Minister’s official residence, Downing Street. But when HonestReporting called out the phrasing, Zeffman doubled down, claiming he had merely been describing the “release of the hostages by Hamas to the International Committee of the Red Cross.” If that were true, it’s unclear why he used the word exchange, since Red Cross officials were not “exchanging” anything.
No, @BBCNews, it’s not a “hostage exchange.”
One side are Israeli hostages, the other are Palestinian prisoners.
If you can’t tell the difference, you shouldn’t call yourselves journalists. pic.twitter.com/xxjU9WUn2p
— HonestReporting (@HonestReporting) October 13, 2025
Worse still, the BBC’s coverage then gave airtime to Dr. Khaled Dawas — a British surgeon and outspoken apologist for Hamas — who had volunteered briefly in Gaza. Dawas falsely claimed that “a large, substantial number of the hostages released are actually military officers,” drawing a grotesque equivalence between them and Palestinian terrorists. He then went further, describing the prisoners as people who had been jailed merely for “fighting occupation” – a chilling euphemism for the perpetrators of suicide bombings, shootings, and massacres targeting Israeli civilians.
The BBC hosts allowed these claims to pass unchallenged. No correction, no pushback – just the legitimization of one of the most appalling falsehoods aired on British television.
Absolutely vile from @BBCNews.
Dr. Khaled Dawas (@Kdawas) falsely claimed Israeli hostages are “military officers” – then described terrorists who butchered civilians as people “fighting occupation.”Murdering and raping Jews is not resistance. It’s barbarism. pic.twitter.com/CsTIeHeEyM
— HonestReporting (@HonestReporting) October 13, 2025
New York Times Prints the Lie in Black and White
The New York Times made an equally damning mistake – this one on its front page. Its print edition described the day’s events as an “exchange of hostages,” erasing the fundamental truth that Israel was releasing a large number of convicted terrorists, not hostages.
This wasn’t a typo buried in an article. It was the paper’s central framing – and one that equated Hamas’ innocent captives with unrepentant murderers. While other outlets, such as ABC News, quickly corrected similar wording after HonestReporting alerted them, The New York Times could not recall its print edition. The damage was done. Hundreds of thousands of readers saw the lie – and many will never see a correction.
Today’s @nytimes front page is beyond disgusting.
“The exchange of hostages” – as if Hamas terrorists and murderers are somehow equal to Israeli hostages held in Gaza.This is moral collapse printed in black and white. pic.twitter.com/4evmgYUIRS
— HonestReporting (@HonestReporting) October 13, 2025
Even on a Day of Hope, the Bias Remains
Even as the guns fell silent, parts of the press continued their war on truth. The BBC and The New York Times managed to tarnish what should have been a moment of unity and relief, replacing empathy with false equivalence and accuracy with ideological bias.
That’s why HonestReporting’s work remains essential. Because even on the happiest of days, when Israeli families finally embraced their loved ones again, too many in the media were still determined to distort the story and steal that joy.
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