Everyone knows that the Big Bad Wolf in children’s fairy tales is evil, even if he disguises himself in sheep’s clothing. He pretends to be harmless and good by twisting the facts, but readers know the truth.
Sadly, Reuters readers are not that lucky. They have no idea that the news agency–which won two Royal Television Society Awards last week– has been providing a respectable platform recently to a freelance Gazan journalist who had praised Hamas’ barbaric October 7 massacre in southern Israel.
They also deserve to know that this has been going on for months, even though HonestReporting exposed last November some of Doaa Rouqa’s enthusiastic Facebook posts celebrating the Hamas attack that had triggered the Israel-Hamas war.
Why is @Reuters still using Doaa Rouqa to report from Gaza? She described Oct. 7 like this: “A morning and day like no other on the road to liberation and great victory, God willing.”
Is celebrating a massacre not in conflict with your Code of Business Conduct and Ethics, p11? pic.twitter.com/CVZ8OL616V
— HonestReporting (@HonestReporting) March 1, 2024
Praising Terrorism
Rouqa is no rookie. According to her social media accounts, she’s an experienced photojournalist who knows how to use the power of the media and has accumulated a significant following on Instagram and Facebook through her independent reporting from Gaza.
So she knew what she was doing when on October 7, as 1,200 people in Israel were brutalized, raped and murdered while others were taken hostage, she posted excited praise for Hamas’ attack on her Facebook page.
One post reads in Arabic: “October, Gaza, Glorious — history will record. Alaqsa flood.”
Another, showing a picture of Hamas terrorists inside Israel, reads: “May God protect them. #alAqsa Flood… A morning and day like no other on the road to liberation and great victory, God willing.”
And another post, in which Rouqa celebrates rockets fired at Israel, carries an image showing trails of smoke over Gaza and a caption that reads in Arabic: “This is how Gaza has woken up. Good morning to our brave resistance. We wish everyone health.” The sentence above the picture reads: “This morning in Gaza has no parallel. #forever #Gaza #Palestine #a morning of pride.”
Related Reading: Media Give Platform to Gaza Journalists Who Infiltrated Israel or Praised Hamas Massacre
This overt support for terror did not prevent Reuters from buying Rouqa’s photos, using her videos, and running her stories.
Nor did her exposure by HonestReporting in November lead to the removal of the posts or Reuters cutting ties with her.
On the contrary, as recently as February 27, Reuters continued giving story bylines and photo credits to a Hamas sympathizer who apparently gets a kick out of the genocidal slaughter of innocent Jews.
Reuters owes its audience an explanation. Not least because it’s a wire service, i.e. its reports are circulated to hundreds of media clients worldwide, whose editors and audience rely on Reuters for objective, balanced and impartial coverage of the conflict.
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