The New York Times responded to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu‘s threat to sue the publication, characterizing it as the latest such effort to go after independent media.
In an interview on Fox News on Thursday, Netanyahu said that the Times “should be sued” over its cover of the crisis in Gaza. “I’m actually looking at whether a country can sue The New York Times,” Netanyahu said. “And I’m looking into it right now, because I think it’s such a — it’s such clear defamation. I mean, you put a picture of a child that’s supposed to then represent all these supposedly starving children, yet they put in this picture of a child who has cerebral palsy.”
The Times put an editors’ note on a story about Gazans dying of starvation. It included images of a mother holding her child. The Times’ editors’ note read, “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.”
In its statement, the Times said, “Children in Gaza are malnourished and starving, as New York Times reporters and others have documented. Mr. Netanyahu is referring to an update we made to a story about how the food crisis is affecting the civilian population. After publication, we learned that the child show in that story — in addition to being severely malnourished — also had pre-existing health problems. That additional information gave readers a greater understanding of his situation.”
“Attempts to threaten independent media providing vital information and accountability to the public are unfortunately an increasingly common playbook, but journalists continue to report from Gaza for the Times, bravely, sensitively, and at personal risk, so that readers can see firsthand the consequences of the war.”
