Israel is losing the narrative worldwide in West Bank and Gaza

Fact-checking becomes impossible in war zones, and unverified casualty figures are often published uncritically. Headlines blame Israel for bombings before investigations can conclude.

On Saturday, in a normative American city, in a normative website of one of the TV network affiliates, the daily email ‘morning digest’ newsletter of the previous day’s events locally and internationally included these two headlines near the top:

‘American citizen beaten to death by Israeli settlers in occupied West Bank’ and ‘Children among 28 Palestinians killed in Israeli airstrikes in Gaza.’

With headlines like that, is it any wonder why Americans are out demonstrating against Israel, Bob Vylan is chanting ‘Death to the IDF,’ and why antisemitism is surging everywhere?

Whether or not the headlines are accurate, distorted, or completely false, they serve the purpose of demonizing Israel, intentionally or not.

The first story refers to the weekend clashes in the West Bank, north of Ramallah. The facts are sketchy, and the report relies on the Palestinian Health Ministry and wire service stringers in the territories.

The latter headline is another in the ongoing assault by the IDF against Hamas in Gaza that has been taking place since October 8, 2023. It also relies on the Gaza Health Ministry (aka Hamas) as a source.

As the Post stated in its editorial on Sunday, “The problem is not merely rhetorical – it’s structural. Western media relies heavily on local stringers, often in Gaza, with ties to Hamas-controlled ministries. Fact-checking becomes impossible in war zones, and unverified casualty figures are often published uncritically. Headlines blame Israel for bombings before investigations can conclude; retractions, when they come, are buried deep in the digital dust.”

What the two stories share is that two days later, there has been no clarification, denial, explanation, or version presented by any official Israeli body – not the government, the police, nor the IDF.

Owning up to our mistakes

When we do something wrong, we should own up to it and be transparent. But when there’s an explanation as to why a Palestinian-American was beaten to death by settlers (were they defending themselves?) or why children were killed in an IAF air raid in Gaza, there needs to be a follow-up.

It won’t be any help to the slanted headlines that the readers already saw – that ship has sailed on the sea of public opinion portraying Israel as the bloodthirsty aggressor. But it will help in laying out the facts and setting the record straight.

If we do nothing, it looks like we’re covering up atrocities, or just as bad, feigning indifference. Headlines and stories that rely only on one side’s version of the events that took place are inevitable. How Israel responds to them is a media battle policy – one that needs to be taken as seriously as the battle on the ground.