During a meeting at the White House, President Biden reportedly criticized the New York Times’ controversial reporting of an explosion near a hospital in the Gaza Strip.
A report from Semafor claimed that Biden met with Wall Street executives in the Roosevelt Room of the White House last week and discussed the paper along with his claim that Israel was behind the explosion. He was particularly disturbed that such a headline appeared “in an American newspaper.”
“Israeli Attack Kills Hundreds in Hospital, Palestinians Say,” was the original New York Times headline on October 17.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}
According to Semafor “[Biden] “Thought the headline was irresponsible and could have triggered a military escalation in the Middle East.” On the same day the headline was published and others blaming Israel for the explosion, prominent Arab leaders canceled their meeting with Biden.
President Biden has reportedly sharply criticized the New York Times’ reporting of an explosion outside a hospital in Gaza. (Getty Images)
JEWS REACT TO NEW YORK TIMES’ FIRST REPORT ON GAZA HOSPITAL EXPLOSION: ‘HASSERASED AND ABUSED’
Fox News Digital has reached out to the White House for comment.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}
The Times received intense backlash for its Oct. 17 headline and its coverage of the explosion. The story, based on information from the Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry, claimed that Israeli airstrikes caused an explosion at a Gaza hospital that killed hundreds of people. Israel denied the claims and provided evidence that Palestinian Islamic Jihad was behind the explosion. US intelligence confirmed that Israel was not behind the explosion.
The Times soon published a lengthy editor’s note apologizing for relying on unverified Hamas claims.
The New York Times admitted that “editors should have taken more care in initially covering the explosion that occurred at a hospital in Gaza last week” after the paper relied “too heavily on Hamas claims.” . (DANIEL SLIM/AFP and DAWOOD NEMER/AFP via Getty Images)
“The Times’ initial reports attributed the claim of Israeli responsibility to Palestinian officials and noted that the Israeli military said it was investigating the explosion. The early versions of the reporting – and the prominence it received in headlines, news stories and social media outlets – relied too heavily on Hamas claims and did not make it clear that these claims could not be immediately verified. “The report left readers with a false impression of what was known and how credible the account was,” Times editors wrote.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}
NEW YORK TIMES INTERNAL SLACK REPORTS Suggest Journalists Were Pushed Back on Coverage of GAZA Hospital: REPORT
Semafor also reported that a person familiar with the situation said Times staff had pressured writers not to rely on Gaza Health Ministry figures for their stories. However, the article said that “independent journalists” said the health ministry’s figures were “broadly consistent” with other reports, despite its ties to Hamas.
The article noted that Biden’s Wall Street meeting was primarily an attempt to “manage a key domestic political constituency” that is diverting funding from universities for their response to Hamas terrorist attacks.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}
The New York Times received criticism for its coverage of a hospital explosion in Gaza. ((Getty Images))
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
Several other news organizations, such as the BBC and Portal, were also criticized for relying on Gaza’s health ministry for initial reports of the hospital explosion.
For more information on culture, media, education, opinion and channel coverage, visit foxnews.com/media.