How to stop reporting fake news on Gaza

It is by now a depressingly familiar phenomenon. Hamas affiliated offices, whether the propaganda office or its health ministry or others, make a wild claim: The IDF has murdered civilians. It has accidentally killed hostages. It is starving the population of Gaza.

Compliant UN officials and NGOs, for reasons of their own, entirely parrot these claims without even the slightest hint of skepticism or caution. The global media on which much of political life still relies - the NYT, the BBC, CNN, MSNBC, and others - then do precisely the same. Again, without even one second of someone saying "Wait a minute, are we sure? These guys have been wrong before. Maybe check or hedge."

The IDF and the Israeli government then comes out with its own version of events. Maybe it takes five minutes. Maybe it takes a few hours. But in pretty much all cases, Israeli claims and refutations are treated with the most careful scrutiny and skepticism.

Every reason to doubt Israel is discussed. Every expert that can be brought to question the arguments is quoted. Meanwhile, the Hamas claims continue to be treated as Divine truth from Sinai until further notice, and maybe forever.

It happened with the al-Ahli hospital "massacre." It happened with the absolutely absurd claim of 14,000 children set to die in 48 hours. It happened with pretty much every warning of imminent starvation in Gaza, actual full numbers and contrary claims be damned. It happened with every exaggerated, falsified, or distorted claim about civilian casualties.

I don't particularly care why this bias exists. I'm sure there are multiple reasons for it. But it clearly does: the media blindly trusts the word of a terrorist organization and the humanitarian volunteers who have never dared cross it, and does not trust or believe the word of Israel, even when it presents physical, documentary and video evidence to support its claims.

This isn't just about harming Israel's diplomatic image. The country has endured many such libels in the past and will thrive despite all the lies.

Jews around the world are being targeted with harassment, physical violence, and death threats over massacre claims. In most cases, due to shoddy and lazy reporting that refuses to do basic things like even bother to report that the high number of dead includes a very large number of combatants, or the difficulties or urban combat, or the proven Hamas use of civilian infrastructure.

This isn't a plea to cover up clear misdeeds by the IDF. The IDF itself takes such accusations seriously and investigates them. It is a plea to be far more responsible with reporting claims of civilian massacres or unjustified deaths.

Be a little more skeptical and a little more careful. Leave open the possibility that Hamas is wrong, even if you don't want to say they're lying. Consider the fact that while not perfect, the IDF's track record of truth telling has been very good despite the fog of war and constraints on information flow. And do it consistently, every time this sort of story comes up.

We're not asking that the media become a propaganda outlet for Israel, simply that it cease being so for Hamas. All we ask for is fairness, professionalism, and the kind of universal skepticism the press was once known for - and for which it was justly praised.