A Vice News Tonight report aired on television by HBO on April 3 spread a clearly false claim smearing the IDF and the State of Israel.
During the report, a local Gaza-based activist is asked why he is protesting. The activist, Louai al-Jammal, says that he wants “to break the siege the Gaza Strip is suffering from,” before adding “we appeal to Allah, what we have done wasn’t in vain. The people are still suffering.”
So far, so standard. A local is giving his view, and while many people may not agree with it, it’s acceptable news footage.
Less acceptable, though, is what follows. At this point, reporter Hind Hassan interjects, and says:
But 250 children died during the protests, right?
The interviewee, led by his interviewer, agrees with the figure provided by Hassan. One person in the background corrects them and says “270.”
Neither figure is even remotely accurate.
Totally false statement by @HindHassanNews on this @vicenews report aired on @HBO, who claims 250 minors were killed during the Gaza border demonstrations. In fact, around 50 minors have died.
The number cited by Hasan is a gross inflation. Woeful reporting. pic.twitter.com/tdGmtc5MeL
— HonestReporting (@HonestReporting) April 4, 2019
Woefully Inaccurate Reporting
Even according to Palestinian sources, such as Ma’an News, 52 minors were killed during the violence on the Israel-Gaza border over the last year of protests. The same number is cited by the Palestinian Ministry of Health.
It’s not entirely clear where the 250 figure claimed by Vice reporter Hassan comes from, if it has any basis in reality. The figure of 270 killed, however, might be the result of confusion with the total number of people killed, not just minors, in the course of the violent demonstrations.
Whatever the rationale, and even if this was an innocent mistake, the end result is woefully inaccurate reporting and displays highly unprofessional editing and fact-checking, leading to a vastly inflated number being spread on television to an audience of hundreds of thousands of viewers, and many more online.
Finally, it should be clear that the deaths of children and teenagers is a tragedy. Whether 250, 50, or even one child is killed, it’s truly sad, irrespective of which side of a conflict they happen to be on. However, it should also be noted that a central Hamas strategy in the media war is to deliberately risk the injury and deaths of minors, some of whom are positively encouraged to take part in violent activities.
Update: Following HonestReporting’s coverage of the false claim, Vice News pulled the video from its website and YouTube channel. Furthermore, the article, uploaded some days after the show was aired on TV and in which the video was embedded, now refers to “270 demonstrators,” rather than “270 children” as having been killed.
