HonestReporting stands behind the legitimate questions we raised to media outlets in our recent exposé.
The answers we received only raised more questions that have yet to receive a response: Why did the AP and CNN continue to work with Hassan Eslaiah despite his prior public picture and affection for Yahya Sinwar, mastermind of the October 7 Hamas massacre? Did the New York Times fact check Yousef Masoud when he explained that he was able to document the October 7 massacre in real time because rockets woke him at 5:30am, despite the rocket fire not beginning until 6:30am?
Rather than accusing AP, Reuters, CNN, or the NY Times of having advanced knowledge of the massacre, HonestReporting raised several questions related to the facts and ethics connected to the freelancers who appeared to accompany an internationally-recognized terrorist organization on a cross border raid to rape, pillage, murder, and abduct Israeli civilians.
These outlets chose to attack HonestReporting’s intentions and credibility, despite the AP and CNN cutting ties with Eslaiah after our exposé. They accused HonestReporting of putting journalists at risk due to “baseless speculation” and lack of evidence.
Let us be clear. Photojournalists being in the “right place at the right time” to document a surprise murderous attack on a random Saturday morning is enough to raise questions. And, as more evidence comes to light, it only supports our original questioning.
Executive Director Gil Hoffman’s subsequent conversations with Reuters and AP were misconstrued and taken out of context in an attempt to discredit our original exposé. To avoid the uncomfortable question of their freelancers’ activity on October 7, the media tried to reframe the conversation. They denied having advanced knowledge of the attack (which we did not claim), and then accused HonestReporting of spreading misinformation. We wholeheartedly reject this baseless assertion. HonestReporting noticed the details and asked the questions that fact checkers and editors at these news organizations should have done themselves.
Israeli and American government officials have used the questions raised in our article to push investigations. HonestReporting does not take direction from any government, nor they from us. Mr. Hoffman regrets commenting on the response of the Israeli government.
We are proud of the role that we play in holding the media accountable. How journalists frame events in and about Israel affect the safety of Jews worldwide; so we will continue to ensure that anti-Israel bias in mainstream media is exposed.
HonestReporting believes that people deserve to have reliable news sources, whether it be in traditional or social media. So long as media continue to employ stringers who operate in an environment controlled by Hamas, without disclosing that Hamas is a totalitarian government that controls the flow of information from Gaza, they are providing a disservice to their readers. News outlets have a responsibility to ensure that they are not simply publishing Hamas propaganda. Transparency is the key to a healthy press.
