New York Times torched for editor’s note about coverage of Gaza hospital blast: 'Relied only on Hamas'

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NY Times under fire after issuing apology: 'They know what they're doing'

'Outnumbered' panelists weigh in after the New York Times admitted to being wrong in how it covered the deadly blast at a Gaza hospital.

The New York Times drew heavy criticism last week for amplifying the Hamas-run Health Ministry’s claims that an Israeli airstrike struck a hospital in Gaza without informing its readers that the information couldn’t immediately be verified.  

The Times released an editor’s note on Monday saying its initial accounts "attributed the claim of Israeli responsibility to Palestinian officials, and noted that the Israeli military said it was investigating the blast." 

"However, the early versions of the coverage — and the prominence it received in a headline, news alert and social media channels — relied too heavily on claims by Hamas, and did not make clear that those claims could not immediately be verified. The report left readers with an incorrect impression about what was known and how credible the account was," the statement read in part. 

The NYT said its initial accounts of the Gaza hospital explosion "relied too heavily on claims by Hamas, and did not make clear that those claims could not immediately be verified." ((Fox News))

The Israeli Defense Forces denied striking the hospital, writing on X, formerly known as Twitter, that a "failed rocket launch by the Islamic Jihad terrorist organization hit the Al Ahli hospital in Gaza City." 

An Associated Press visual analysis released on Saturday found the most likely cause of the explosion was the result of a rocket "fired from within Palestinian territory" that broke up in the air and fell to the ground. 

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President Biden also said he had seen data from the Defense Department that showed Israel was not to blame for the explosion at the Gaza hospital. 

FOX News’ Pete Hegseth slammed the New York Times for relying "only on Hamas." 

A view of the surroundings of Al-Ahli Baptist Hospital after it was hit in Gaza City, Gaza on October 18, 2023. (Ali Jadallah/Anadolu via Getty Images)

"They relied only on Hamas in this scenario. They were the only ones making this claim. They threw a number out there. They threw a hospital out there and the New York Times ran with it," Hegseth said Monday on "Outnumbered."  

Co-host Harris Faulkner also called out the Times for not waiting to ask questions and verify Hamas’ claims. 

"It is amazing that at that legacy newspaper, they didn't wait to ask the questions and for those answers to come back. And so, what they got used by [was] the enemy, the bloodthirsty, evil walking the planet known as Hamas. They got used," she said. "They became part of the propaganda. And I don't know if we will ever be able to separate them from that."

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The Times added in its note about the Gaza hospital coverage that its editors "should have taken more care with the initial presentation, and been more explicit about what information could be verified."

Palestinians check the place of the explosion at al-Ahli hospital, in Gaza City, Wednesday, Oct. 18, 2023. The Hamas-run Health Ministry says an Israeli airstrike caused the explosion that killed hundreds at al-Ahli, but the Israeli military says it was a misfired Palestinian rocket. (AP Photo/Abed Khaled)

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"Newsroom leaders continue to examine procedures around the biggest breaking news events — including for the use of the largest headlines in the digital report — to determine what additional safeguards may be warranted," the statement continued. 

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