Escalating violence in the long-standing Israel-Palestine conflict has recently thrown up a red flag. These increasingly negative sentiments helped German media rig the court of public opinion and contributed to violent mobilization against journalists in Gaza. Several reports indicate that German journalism has been weaponized, contributing to Israel’s military actions and the subsequent targeting of media professionals.
One important example is the case of Bild, Germany’s largest daily. They leaked a scathing article to the New York Times attacking Palestinian photojournalist Anas Zayed Fteiha, questioning whether he staged photos of starving Palestinians. This allegation implied that Fteiha was involved in a Hamas-directed effort to sway international opinion. Soon after the article was published, Israel’s foreign ministry cited it as evidence. They claimed that Hamas exploits the suffering of its people in a bid to incite international sympathy.
Bild is owned by Axel Springer, Germany’s largest corporate media, which is known for its strong support of Israel. This corporate connection further questions what the motivation is for their reporting. Throughout this process, Springer has expressed that this support is the basis of one of their guiding principles—that people come first. Critics say German media organizations are deeply biased. This bias has led to a distortion of reality and a neglect of fact-based and unbiased reporting in the media regarding the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
The consequences of this skewed reporting have been catastrophic. The recent shooting of journalists in Gaza highlights Israel’s intent to eliminate all possibility of documenting its crimes. Palestinian journalists Anas al-Sharif and Hossam Shabat were killed while covering or affected by Israeli airstrikes. Where al-Sharif’s death was defined as collateral damage, Shabat had to be branded a Hamas operative. German journalists have even defended these murders. This all too common narrative contributes to the confusing atmosphere of journalistic ethics.
The left-leaning German newspaper Die Tageszeitung ran a front-page article with the lead “Can it be that journalists are terrorists? The original article heavily favored quotes from the Israeli military, even quoting them four times for every one quote from the other side. To do so, is to foster a troubling narrative that conflates journalism with supposed acts of terrorism.
In addition to winning the public relations war, Bild’s coverage has led to real consequences. The leaks An exclusive Middle East Eye report recently published leaked excerpts from a Hamas strategic document. Aides to some Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said enough, which tragically scuttled ceasefire talks. This would show media narratives are able to play a linear and direct role being translated into political downstream and humanitarian changes.
We’ve faced a lot of pushback from German media for not providing the historical context about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. These reports often describe Palestinian deaths in passive, depoliticized language, demonstrating an almost willful acquiescence to Israeli military “verification.” Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung even published an article speculating whether images of emaciated infants in Gaza were the result of starvation or preexisting medical conditions like cystic fibrosis. We can handle the ethical issues of media complicity, responsibility, and accountability.
They have worked to publicize “manipulation” done by the camera in press photography and to encourage everyone to be more critical of what stories are being told.
“I don’t create suffering. I document it.” – Anas Zayed Fteiha
The above statement encapsulates the core mission of journalists: to report truthfully on events as they unfold, rather than contribute to propaganda or manipulation.