Palestine鈥檚 Journalists鈥� Syndicate slams Western media鈥檚 鈥榰nethical鈥� coverage of Gaza war

The Syndicate said Western media has 'adopted dehumanizing and violent language about the Palestinian people.' (AFP/File)
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  • Group urges reporters to abide by basic journalistic standards

LONDON: The Palestinian Journalists鈥� Syndicate has described the Western media discourse around the Israeli assault on Gaza as a 鈥渘ew low for the principles of journalistic integrity.鈥�

In a statement on Tuesday, Palestinian journalists and trade unionists said they 鈥渁re distressed that some in global media have frequently failed to meet these standards when covering the ongoing massacre in Gaza.鈥�

The statement urged reporters, especially those working for Western media outlets, to abide by basic journalistic standards.

After three weeks of Israeli strikes on the Gaza Strip, in which at least 9,000 Palestinians have been killed and more than 30,000 injured, journalists had found themselves 鈥渇orced to speak out,鈥� it said.

The statement also accused Western media outlets of having discarded any claim to objectivity and truth and of 鈥減arroting鈥� the rhetoric of Israeli officials.

It added that they had 鈥渇ailed to challenge or even attempt to verify blatant misinformation and propaganda鈥� and 鈥渁dopted dehumanizing and violent language about the Palestinian people.鈥�

The syndicate called on journalists around the world to take action to stop the 鈥渉orrifying bombardment鈥� on Gaza and uphold the ethical principles of their profession.

A total of 25 Palestinian journalists and nine media workers have been killed since the start of the conflict.

On Oct. 18, a group of 179 UK-based media and communications scholars condemned in a joint letter what they described as 鈥渁 dangerous suspension of journalistic values鈥� in the British media鈥檚 coverage of the Gaza war.

They also denounced the Israel Defense Forces鈥� use of dehumanizing language in reference to Palestinians.