Brian Stelter Tears Into Media’s ‘Atrocious Series of Mistakes’ Covering Gaza Hospital Bombing: ‘They Actually Did Harm’
Former CNN chief media correspondent Brian Stelter tore into the “atrocious series of mistakes” made by the media while covering this week’s bombing of a Gaza hospital and accused reporters of causing “harm.”
Following the bombing of a Gaza hospital on Tuesday, the Palestinian Ministry of Health blamed the incident on an Israeli strike, while Israel blamed the incident on a misfired Islamic Jihad missile.
News headlines changed as more information came to light after some outlets based their reporting solely on the statement of the Palestinian Ministry of Health.
On Tuesday, the National Security Council claimed in an assessment Israel was “not responsible” for the bombing. During a press conference in Israel, President Joe Biden said, “It appears as though it was done by the other team.”
During a Wednesday evening appearance on NewsNation’s Dan Abrams Live, Stelter said:
Sometimes, Dan, you’re out there criticizing the media and I want to defend the media, but there is no defense here. This was an atrocious series of mistakes by many different major newsrooms all around the same time on Tuesday and unfortunately I don’t think there’s been enough follow-up or accountability to make sure it doesn’t happen again.
I’ve noticed oftentimes in breaking news stories, breaking news scenarios, when information is lowest, interest is highest, and by the time we actually know the facts, people move on. Well, this was one of those cases, but it was even worse because when the stakes are highest, it seems the standards were the lowest, and it should be the opposite. The standard should be the highest when the stakes are as high as they are right now.
He continued, “There is no doubt this was a tragedy at the hospital, but there was this rush to judgment based on a one-sided story from whatever the opposite of a reliable source is, and that’s what was so disturbing about Tuesday, and like I said, because there hasn’t been a follow-up, a kind of series of accountability, I’m worried that it could keep happening.”
After host Dan Abrams asked, “Do you think this is based on a bias in the media against Israel? Is it just laziness?” Stelter replied, “It’s more about a rush to report whatever is new. After all, the word ‘news’ has the word ‘new’ in it. There’s always a desire to get out whatever you’re hearing most recently.”
Stelter then recalled that the first time he covered the aftermath of a tornado on the ground, he thought to himself, “What does a journalist do in the middle of an emergency?”
Stelter concluded, “First, do no harm. You’re like a doctor, don’t make a terrible situation worse. War is already hell, it should not be made worse by misreporting, but I fear that on Tuesday the media made a bad situation worse. They actually did harm as opposed to trying to do the opposite.”
Watch above via NewsNation.
