New York Times admits using misleading cover photo of emaciated Gaza child
The New York Times was accused of “journalistic malpractice” on Tuesday after admitting an emaciated child displayed on the front page as evidence of famine in Gaza was actually suffering from a grim preexisting condition unrelated to the conflict with Israel.
The ordeal began Friday when a grim image of a malnourished infant was splashed across the Times’ front page with the somber headline, “Young, Old and Sick Starve to Death in Gaza: ‘There Is Nothing.’”
The photo’s caption noted the boy was “born healthy,” and the accompanying story about the hunger crisis in Gaza reaching “new and astonishing levels of desperation” focused on Palestinians dying from starvation. Among them was Mohammed Zakaria al-Mutawaq, an 18-month-old whose father was “killed last October when he went out to seek food,” according to the Times.
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Social media users quickly noticed that Mohammed was the same boy who had previously been featured by other media outlets because he was living in Gaza with a significant preexisting disorder, a fact that was not mentioned in the Times’ viral front-page story.
After ignoring requests for comment for multiple days, the Times finally addressed the major omission on Tuesday with an editors’ note.
“This article has been updated to include information about Mohammed Zakaria al-Mutawaq, a child in Gaza suffering from severe malnutrition. After publication of the article, The Times learned from his doctor that Mohammed also had pre-existing health problems,” the editors’ note stated.
The admission was buried underneath the lengthy story that had already circulated for more than four days and critics didn’t believe enough remorse was expressed by the newspaper.
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Former Times opinion editor Adam Rubenstein blasted his former employer.
“If you read carefully, this is an admission of a remarkable deception. They ran a story about malnutrition but didn’t include the context that the malnutrition is not caused by a lack of food, but by a pre-existing condition, a disease that affects the child’s ability to thrive,” Rubenstein reacted on X.
“I.e. in effect, they buried the actual story of the child’s malnutrition to tell a different story of the malnutrition. Why? You can answer that,” Rubenstein continued. “And — it should be noted: If the original story was fit to print on the front page of the paper, so is the updated one with a clear editors’ note.”
Journalist David Collier, who noted the Times and other outlets disseminated the misleading photograph on Sunday, wrote the “revelation raises serious issues of media integrity.”
The story, which essentially painted Mohammed as one of the faces of the hunger crisis plaguing Gaza since Israel ended a two-month cease-fire in mid-March, featured distressing quotes from the boy’s mother, such as, “I look at him and I can’t help but cry.”
Many others took to social media to scold the Times once the paper’s public relations team shared the editor’s note:
A New York Times spokesperson provided additional comment when reached by Fox News Digital.
“Children in Gaza are malnourished and starving, as New York Times reporters and others have documented. We recently ran a story about Gaza’s most vulnerable civilians, including Mohammed Zakaria al-Mutawaq, who is about 18 months old and suffers from severe malnutrition. We have since learned new information, including from the hospital that treated him and his medical records, and have updated our story to add context about his pre-existing health problems,” Times spokesperson Nicole Taylor said.
“This additional detail gives readers a greater understanding of his situation,” Taylor continued. “Our reporters and photographers continue to report from Gaza, bravely, sensitively, and at personal risk, so that readers can see firsthand the consequences of the war.”
The Times also provided a link to allow readers a chance to read the updated story without a subscription.
HonestReporting, a pro-Israel outlet, uncovered that another Gaza boy, reportedly Mohammed’s brother, is standing in the background of other images of the child, appearing to be in significantly better condition.
“Time and again, they have run with unverified images and unchecked claims. No due diligence. No questions asked. Because these stories fit the narrative they want to tell – that Israel is waging a war against a helpless civilian population,” HonestReporting wrote. “Muhammad has a medical condition. He is not simply a victim of starvation, and the image has been presented in a misleading and incomplete way.”
The Times did not immediately respond when asked for a follow-up comment on criticism of the editors’ note.
Fox News Digital’s Joseph A. Wulfsohn contributed to this report.
