1.1 Lack of historical context leading up to the October 7th attack

In our reading of all A1 stories published in the NYT since October 8, 2023, the history of the occupied Palestinian territory of Gaza is frequently left off the page, leaving NYT readers without a full understanding of the context fueling the current conflict and genocide. 

The Gaza Strip is often referred to as an “impoverished territory that relies on Israel for two-thirds of its power” (10/9). This “reliance” is often written without reference to Israel’s most recent 16-year blockade of the strip and its decades of complete control of movement in and out of The Gaza Strip and over all of its resources as an occupying force (10/10, 10/14, 10/28, 11/9). Instead, NYT articles read as if Israel is a benign party and provider of charity or aid to the territories it occupies. When factual context is provided, it is often buried deep in articles, suggesting this historical context is not as important as Israel’s talking points (10/8, 10/13, 10/8). 

The rare examples where NYT’s reporting was not as reductive in its presentation included articles written by Raja Abdulrahim and Samar Abu Elouf ( 10/25, 10/22). In these features, context reflecting the 16-year-long blockade is presented in the fourth and fifth paragraphs, respectively. We had hoped to find more examples of this on-the-ground, context-focused reporting, but found the opposite.

Several articles are framed to elicit exclusive sympathy for the Israeli state’s alleged motivations and national aspirations. On 10/28, the article referenced opens with a quote from Netanyahu calling Israel’s war on Palestinians “his country’s second war of independence.” The use of such a quote to introduce the feature clearly heightens perceptions of an existential threat to Israel, without adequate consideration of Israel’s previous military campaigns in 2008, 2012, 2014, and as recent as 2021 against the Gaza Strip and its inhabitants. Only in the final paragraphs of the article referenced here does the reader receive the background context that Netanyahu’s inflammatory statement references the founding of Israel in 1948, when hundreds of thousands of Palestinians were displaced and over 500 of their villages completely destroyed. 

When mentioning U.S. involvement in the ongoing Palestine-Israel conflict, the NYT consistently fails to reference the $3.3 billion of military aid the US Congress provides annually to Israel, notwithstanding the additional $14.3 billion the Biden administration pledged to Israel after October 7. The current spike in the billions in “military assistance” and aid to Israel since October 7 is reported as an extraordinary occurrence rather than a historical, ongoing, and deliberate U.S. policy of earmarking billions in taxpayer money over decades to unconditionally support Israel (10/8, 10/20).

1.2 Selective reporting on an ongoing humanitarian crisis

The NYT has exhibited the same lack of context with regard to the worsening humanitarian situation brought on by the Israeli military campaign against the Gaza Strip’s 2.3 million civilian population since October 7. References to the current siege on fuel, water, food, and medical supplies entering the Gaza Strip after October 7 omit that since 2007 Israel has controlled these essential resources entering the Gaza Strip and is responsible for the past humanitarian crisis, which has only been exponentially compounded by the current military campaign being carried out on the mostly civilian population in the area(10/14, 10/24). 

The NYT’s coverage of the current humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip often minimizes the role of Israel’s siege on this crisis, and coverage persistently avoids mention of the amount of humanitarian aid that entered the Strip to sustain Gaza’s 2.3 million residents before October 7 (10/9, 10/23, 11/3, 11/10). Moreover, when referencing Israel’s evacuation orders to Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, including hospitals, articles often neglect to mention that there is nowhere for the population to evacuate. The Gaza Strip’s two land borders have been closed since October 7, and even its maritime borders are under full Israeli control. Every part of the territory is under bombardment.

Additionally, context is often omitted, minimized, or buried entirely when NYT’s articles refer to the nearly 7,000 Palestinians detained in Israeli jails (notwithstanding the lack of reference to the over 5,000 Palestinians who have been arbitrarily detained by Israel since October 7). When the NYT does note these detentions, there is limited mention that the vast majority of Palestinians are held in “administrative detention” without charge, and a great number of these detainees held without charge are women and children (10/28, 11/20). 

Even when context is provided, it is often buried deep in the article and presented in ways that insinuate questionable credibility of claims and information coming from Palestinian sources generally or those coming from Gaza directly (10/9, 10/26).