2023-11-28 06:00:29
Published on Nov. 28, 2023 at 7:00 a.m.
Western media were already in great demand to cover the Russian war in Ukraine, but also the ongoing conflicts in the Caucasus, the Sahel, the African Great Lakes region and Syria. With the outbreak of war between Israel and Hamas, the pressure on the editorial staff increased dramatically. More than any other international conflict, what happened in Israel on October 7 and in Gaza since that date dramatically divides our societies and tears apart the editorial offices of their biggest media outlets.
Every word of every article, every image and video is scrutinized, interpreted, co-opted and vilified: should Hamas be called a “terrorist” organization? Can you criticize Israel without being anti-Semitic? Should we show the most disturbing images of dead children or burned people? How can we guard against attempts at manipulation, notably certain comments after the bombing of a hospital in Gaza on October 17, the origin of which was in fact not easy to determine?
Editorial tone
In France, the AFP has notably been accused of biased coverage. Recently heard in the Senate, its CEO, Fabrice Fries, described the accusations as “crazy” and “infamous”. But there is a malaise internally. According to internal emails revealed by “Le Figaro”, and to which “Les Echos” had access, some in the agency criticize pell-mell a more sensationalist Anglo-Saxon vision, a tone escaping political neutrality, and editorial writing in leader with supposedly little international experience.
All these criticisms amount to misunderstanding the specificities of the work of an international agency which must cover news 24 hours a day, with 50 journalists on site (between Israel, the Gaza Strip and the West Bank), retorts a note to clients of the AFP published on November 3 by the agency, which emphasizes that its media must “follow and decipher a constantly evolving situation, which exposes it to accusations of partiality, sometimes pro-Palestinian, sometimes pro-Israeli”.
At least 57 journalists killed
While recognizing errors, the AFP claims efforts. “We are trying to be fair, to cover this war on the ground, in Gaza and in Israel, without fear or preferential treatment. »
Across the Channel, the BBC has been the subject of similar attacks. “Like all media, we are reluctantly exploited; our journalists are targeted, either physically or on social networks,” observes Jean-Marc Four, director of Radio France Internationale (RFI).
However, the biggest challenge remains that of the safety of journalists. Unable to send other reporters to Gaza, the editorial offices are almost entirely dependent on information coming from the Israeli authorities and Hamas, and their teams on site – sometimes freelance – live in extreme humanitarian and security conditions. .
The month following the start of the Israel-Hamas conflict was the deadliest in at least thirty years for journalists in conflict, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists. According to this New York foundation, to date at least 57 journalists and media collaborators have died in this conflict.
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