Ted Lieu accuses NY Times of 'intentionally' writing false headline for Gaza hospital report to draw clicks
Democratic congressman lashed out at New York Times and Los Angeles Times for pushing false narratives on Palestinian hospital strike
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Rep. Ted Lieu, D-Calif., accused The New York Times of doing something far "worse" than making a mistake, after the outlet quoted Palestinian claims blaming Israel for the explosion that rocked the al-Ahli Baptist Hospital in Gaza City earlier this week.
President Biden said that U.S. intelligence confirmed Israel was not to blame for the attack and backed up Israel's military investigation, which found the strike was caused by Palestinian terrorist group Islamic Jihad.
Users on X roasted the paper for its initial headline, which read, "Israeli strike kills hundreds in hospital, Palestinians say." The Democratic congressman joined media watchdogs and conservative commentators criticizing the paper in an X post on Thursday.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"I agree the @nytimes didn’t ‘botch’ the Gaza hospital story. They did something worse," Lieu wrote. "They intentionally wrote an attention grabbing headline that falsely pointed the blame at Israel to generate clicks during breaking news, without waiting for confirmation or the actual facts."
Rep. Ted Lieu, D-Calif., slammed The New York Times and the Los Angeles Times for their coverage of the Gaza hospital strike. (Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)
A New York Times spokesperson defended the outlet's coverage in a statement to Fox News Digital.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"During any breaking news event, we report what we know as we learn it. We apply rigor and care to what we publish, explicitly citing sources and noting when a piece of news is breaking and likely to be updated. And as the facts on the ground become more clear, we continue reporting. Our extensive and continued reporting on the hospital in Gaza makes explicit the murkiness surrounding the events there," the spokesperson said.
Lieu also admonished the Los Angeles Times for its Thursday paper headline on the attack.
"Below is today’s lead headline at @latimes. The Times simply accepts what terrorist organization Hamas said even though it’s false," he wrote. "This both sides journalism is factually wrong. A true headline would say ‘Rage spreads over Gaza hospital blast amid false narrative from Hamas,’" he scolded.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The Los Angeles Times did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
A view of the surroundings of al-Ahli Baptist Hospital in Gaza after it was hit on Wednesday. (Ali Jadallah/Anadolu via Getty Images)
A number of media outlets were chastised for repeating Hamas’s claim that Israel was at fault for the explosion.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Washington Free Beacon media reporter Drew Holden posted a comprehensive list of "outlets who carried water for a terrorist group to smear Israel" by rushing to parrot claims of the Hamas-backed health ministry before facts came out. The Associated Press, Reuters, The New York Times, The Washington Post, MSNBC, CNN, BBC, PBS and The Daily Beast were among the outlets called out by Holden.
Fox News chief political analyst Brit Hume called it a "media fiasco" and scolded news organizations that echoed Hamas propaganda without skepticism.
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{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Fox News' Brian Flood contributed to this report.
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