The double standards of reporting the Gaza conflict and shifting perspectives on Israel

Obvious acts of war crimes, attempts at genocide, ethnic cleansing and apartheid will always outrage the international community, even if it has taken over 75 years to get to this stage.

A concerning revelation has come to light in the war reporting in Gaza, raising questions about the objectivity of the mainstream media coverage on the conflict. Over 70 journalists and editors from mainstream media outlets have had “re-education” trips and junkets to Israel over the past decade funded by the Israeli government, with a significant majority of these individuals are affiliated with News Corporation, Nine Media, with some from the ABC and The Guardian as well.

Unsurprisingly, these effects and influence of these trips and junkets has resulted in media outlets taking actions against journalists who have expressed support for the Palestinian cause. Nine Media, in response to an open letter demonstrating solidarity with journalists covering the Gaza conflict, has banned journalists who endorsed the letter. While the ABC didn’t ban journalists, it did issue a warning to its staff regarding the open letter, adding to the growing concerns about media impartiality. These developments follow a prior directive from the ABC, which explicitly banned the use of terms such as “genocide” and “apartheid” to describe the actions by Israel in Gaza and West Bank.

These directives were in response to the open letter initiated by the Media, Entertainment and Arts Alliance, which aimed to offer support and camaraderie for journalists covering the war in Gaza and also emphasised the importance of adhering to journalistic principles, including holding power accountable and accurate reporting on war crimes, genocide, ethnic cleansing, and apartheid, and suggesting that there was a risk of losing “the trust of our audiences if we fail to apply the most stringent journalistic principles and cover this conflict in full”. It’s hard to disagree with the contents of the open letter.

The backdrop to this media controversy is the ongoing conflict in Gaza, which has resulted in the deaths of over 55 journalists, with a notable number allegedly targeted by the Israeli Defense Forces. In the open letter, journalists were also expressing outrage over the loss of over 15,000 Palestinian lives, demanding that mainstream media uphold the fundamental tenets of journalism, such as reporting truthfully and freely on the realities of war.