New York Times editors make sobering admission about their coverage of Gaza hospital bombing

The New York Times issued an extensive mea culpa on Monday, admitting its journalists relied "too heavily" on claims from Hamas about the al-Ahli Baptist Hospital bombing.

Last Tuesday, the legacy media regurgitated Hamas' claim that Israel had struck the hospital and killed more than 500 people.

The evolution of headlines that New York Times journalists slapped on the story told the tale of the media's uncritical reporting. The first headline declared, "Israeli Strike Kills Hundreds in Hospital, Palestinians Say." The second read, "At Least 500 Dead in Strike on Gaza Hospital, Palestinians say." And the third iteration declared, "At Least 500 Dead in Blast on Gaza Hospital, Palestinians say."

As the facts surrounding the incident became known — including Israel's denial of responsibility — editors at the Times changed key aspects of the headline. First, they removed direct blame, editing out "Israeli." Then, editors removed the work "strike" and inserted "blast."

Importantly, the citation of "Palestinians" was a reference to the Gaza Ministry of Health, which Hamas controls, and thus a tell that the Times was relying on Hamas for its information.

We now know 500 people did not die, the hospital was not struck, and Israel was not responsible for the Palestinian-launched rocket that actually fell on a parking lot in the hospital compound.

Nearly a week later, editors at the so-called "newspaper of record" decided it was time to issue an explanation about its coverage of the incident. In a statement, the New York Times admitted to relying on Hamas in its initial reporting.

The Times's initial accounts attributed the claim of Israeli responsibility to Palestinian officials, and noted that the Israeli military said it was investigating the blast.

However, the early versions of the coverage — and the prominence it received in a headline, news alert and social media channels — relied too heavily on claims by Hamas, and did not make clear that those claims could not immediately be verified. The report left readers with an incorrect impression about what was known and how credible the account was.

In retrospect, the editors admitted they "should have taken more care with the initial presentation, and been more explicit about what information could be verified."

The statement, however, does not explain the newspaper attached an image of a destroyed hospital in Gaza — that was not the al-Ahli Baptist Hospital — to their story, thus giving more credence to Hamas' claim that the hospital was destroyed in an airstrike.

On one hand, it's good that the Times is willing to admit its error. It's sobering, however, that such an admission needs to be made at all.

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