MESSAGE
| DATE | 2023-11-10 |
| FROM | Ruben Safir
|
| SUBJECT | Subject: [Hangout - NYLXS] Ethics and reporters
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https://honestreporting.com/photographers-without-borders-ap-reuters-pictures-of-hamas-atrocities-raise-ethical-questions/
honestreporting.com
Broken Borders: AP & Reuters Pictures of Hamas Atrocities Raise Ethical
Questions | Honest Reporting
HonestReporting Staff
8–10 minutes
On October 7, Hamas terrorists were not the only ones who documented the
war crimes they had committed during their deadly rampage across
southern Israel. Some of their atrocities were captured by Gaza-based
photojournalists working for the Associated Press and Reuters news
agencies whose early morning presence at the breached border area raises
serious ethical questions.
What were they doing there so early on what would ordinarily have been a
quiet Saturday morning? Was it coordinated with Hamas? Did the
respectable wire services, which published their photos, approve of
their presence inside enemy territory, together with the terrorist
infiltrators? Did the photojournalists who freelance for other media,
like CNN and The New York Times, notify these outlets? Judging from the
pictures of lynching, kidnapping and storming of an Israeli kibbutz, it
seems like the border has been breached not only physically, but also
journalistically.
AP: Photojournalists or Infiltrators?
Four names appear on AP’s photo credits from the Israel-Gaza border area
on October 7: Hassan Eslaiah, Yousef Masoud, Ali Mahmud, and Hatem Ali.
Eslaiah, a freelancer who also works for CNN, crossed into Israel, took
photos of a burning Israeli tank, and then captured infiltrators
entering Kibbutz Kfar Azza.
HonestReporting has obtained screenshots of Eslaiah’s now-removed tweets
on X in which he documented himself standing in front of the Israeli
tank. He did not wear a press vest or a helmet, and the Arabic caption
of his tweet read: “Live from inside the Gaza Strip settlements.”
* * *
UPDATE: Shortly after the publication of this article, we were alerted
to footage of Hassan Eslaiah next to the Israeli tank. In addition, a
photo has surfaced showing Eslaiah with Hamas leader and mastermind of
the October 7 massacre, Yahya Sinwar.
And here is footage of Eslaiah after he crossed into Israel and took
photos of a burning Israeli tank. He then captured infiltrators
entering Kibbutz Kfar Azza.
Note that he is not identifiable as a member of the press. But
AP & CNN deemed it acceptable to use his services.
pic.twitter.com/fA0VI2df2i
— HonestReporting (-at-HonestReporting) November 8, 2023
In the above video, Eslaiah says in Arabic: “Everyone who
were inside this tank were kidnapped, everyone who were
inside the tank were kidnapped a short while ago by
al-Qassam Brigades [Hamas’ armed wing], as we have seen with
our own eyes.”
More photos he took in Kfar Azza show Hamas terrorists
trying to breach the Kibbutz’s fence and a burning house
inside the community:
Gate Kfar Azza.png
Fire-Kfar-Azza-this
* * *
Masoud, who also works for The New York Times, was there as
well — just in time to set foot in Israeli territory and
take more tank pictures.
Ali Mahmud and Hatem Ali were positioned to get pictures of
the horrific abductions of Israelis into Gaza.
Mahmud captured the pickup truck carrying the body of
German-Israeli Shani Louk and Ali got several shots of
abductees being kidnapped into the Strip.
Interestingly, the names of the photographers, which appear
on other sources, have been removed from some of the photos
on AP’s database. Perhaps someone at the agency realized it
posed serious questions regarding their journalistic ethics.
Reuters: Lynching as “Image of the Day”
Reuters has published pictures from two photojournalists who
also happened to be at the border just in time for Hamas’
infiltration: Mohammed Fayq Abu Mostafa and Yasser Qudih.
They both took pictures of a burning Israeli tank on the
Israeli side of the border, but Abu Mustafa went further: He
took photos of a lynch mob brutalizing the body of an
Israeli soldier who was dragged out of the tank.
Reuters was kind enough to add a graphic warning to the
photo caption, but it didn’t prevent editors from
shamelessly labeling it as one of the “Images of the Day” on
their editorial database.
Let’s be clear: News agencies may claim that these people
were just doing their job. Documenting war crimes,
unfortunately, may be part of it. But it’s not that simple.
It is now obvious that Hamas had planned its October 7
attack on Israel for a very long time: its scale, its brutal
aims and its massive documentation have been prepared for
months, if not years. Everything was taken into account —
the deployments, the timing, as well as the use of bodycams
and mobile phone videos for sharing the atrocities.
Is it conceivable to assume that “journalists” just happened
to appear early in the morning at the border without prior
coordination with the terrorists? Or were they part of the
plan?
Even if they didn’t know the exact details of what was going
to happen, once it unfolded did they not realize they were
breaching a border? And if so, did they notify the news
agencies? Some sort of communication was undoubtedly
necessary — before, after or during the attack — in order
to get the photos published.
* * *
REACTIONS UPDATE: After publication of this article, a
spokeswoman for the Associated Press quoted by the Daily
Wire denied any advance knowledge of the attack, although
HonestReporting did not make such accusation. “The
Associated Press had no knowledge of the Oct. 7 attacks
before they happened,” said Nicole Meir. “The role of the AP
is to gather information on breaking news events around the
world, wherever they happen, even when those events are
horrific and cause mass casualties. AP uses images taken by
freelancers around the world, including in Gaza.”
According to a report on Ynet News on November 9, AP has
decided to cut ties with Eslaiah. “We are no longer working
with Hassan Eslaiah, who had been an occasional freelancer
for AP and other international news organizations in Gaza”,
their statement said.
Earlier, Ynet News reported that CNN has decided to suspend
ties with Eslaiah despite not finding “any reason to doubt
the journalistic accuracy of the work he has done for us.”
A day after the publication, Reuters has issued a statement
to which HonestReporting replied as follows:
Please read our report. We did not accuse -at-Reuters of
collusion. We quite rightly raised some serious ethical
issues regarding news outlets’ association with these
freelancers and asked important and relevant questions
that everyone deserves answers
to.https://t.co/KcdXMd4DYF https://t.co/MmCvA5orDo
— HonestReporting (-at-HonestReporting) November 9,
2023
The New York Times stood by its decision to work
with freelancer Yousef Masoud, who on October 7 had
worked for AP. In a statement on November 9, the
paper praised his work claiming that he was “doing
what photojournalists always do during major news
events.” The Times denied it had prior knowledge of
the Hamas attacks, an accusation HonestReporting did
not make.
Israel’s Public Diplomacy Directorate at the Prime
Minister’s office issued a statement saying it
viewed with “severity” the phenomenon of journalists
covering Hamas’ atrocities, labeling them as
“accomplices to crimes against humanity.” The
statement added that the Israeli Government Press
office has sent an official complaint demanding
explanations and “immediate action” from the
relevant media outlets.
The Jerusalem Journalists Association has called on
the relevant international media outlets to launch a
thorough inquiry into questions arising from this
exposure.
* * *
Either way, when international news agencies decide
to pay for material that has been captured under
such problematic circumstances, their standards may
be questioned and their audience deserves to know
about it. And if their people on the ground actively
or passively collaborated with Hamas to get the
shots, they should be called out to redefine the
border between journalism and barbarism.
Found this article informative? Follow the
HonestReporting page on Facebook to read more
articles debunking news bias and smears, as well as
others explaining Israel’s history, politics, and
international affairs. Click here to learn more!
Photo Credits: Abed Rahim Khatib via Flash90,
Structuresxx via Shutterstock
Editors note: The headline of this article has been
updated. This story has no connection to the
Photographers Without Borders organization and we
are happy to clear up any unintentional confusion
that may have been caused.
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