News

New York Times Draws Fire for Quiet Correction in Gaza Child Malnutrition Story

Critics accuse the Times of fueling a false starvation narrative with a child’s image—then burying the correction in a PR backchannel.
3294 views0
[Billie Grace Ward from New York, USA, CC BY 2.0 , via Wikimedia Commons]
Walt RasingerBy
Share

It’s just propaganda at this point and it’s hard to say otherwise. The New York Times is facing renewed scrutiny over its Gaza war coverage after quietly issuing a correction to a widely circulated story portraying a Palestinian child, Mohammed Zakaria al-Mutawaq, as a victim of war-induced starvation. A medical report from the Basma Association, dated May 2025 but only recently acknowledged by the paper, revealed the child suffers from cerebral palsy and other pre-existing conditions—undermining the original implication that his state was caused solely by the ongoing conflict.

The correction, which acknowledged the health conditions “only became known after publication,” was posted not through the Times’ main platform but via a lower-traffic public relations account. Critics argue this was a deliberate attempt to downplay the error. The editorial sleight of hand, they say, reflects a pattern: favor the dramatic narrative, then quietly walk it back when the facts catch up.

As many noted in response, hoping to slide the correction after the fake news had spread far and wide, the newspaper did not show the retraction on its Twitter account with 50 million subscribers. Instead, it decided to post the apology and correction on an account that only has 80,000 followers.

The despicable move sparked outcry for being such a sick and cynical use of a sick child for propaganda reasons.

Media watchdogs have long flagged the paper’s ideological leanings. AllSides and Media Bias/Fact Check both categorize the Times as left-of-center, noting both its overall editorial tilt and occasional failures in op-ed fact-checking. It would not be surprising that as the Democratic Party grows more antisemitic and pro-Palestine, The Gray Lady would follow suit.

Despite the correction, the use of the photo by the prominent newspaper gave permission to other liberal outlets to use the same child as proof of starvation in Palestine.

Axios has not explained why it used the photo.

Eitan Fischberger, however, who is actually in Gaza, wrote in The Wall Street Journal that Western outlets like The Times have happily gobbled up Hamas propaganda over the past few weeks.

Over the weekend, I embedded with the Israel Defense Forces in Gaza, where I saw the enormous quantities of humanitarian aid the United Nations has been refusing to distribute. What struck me most were the thousands upon thousands of pounds of baby food, baking under the Middle Eastern sun—jar after jar of mashed carrots, pureed potatoes and fruit blends. This food could have gone to children like Mohammed al-Mutawaaq.

Those who don’t know his name will almost certainly recognize his face. Pictures of him, gaunt and fragile, staring vacantly into the camera, were plastered across the homepages of major media outlets last week, from the New York Times and Politico to the BBC. Mohammed, more than anyone else, was made the face of a devastating allegation: that Israel is deliberately starving Palestinian children.

That wasn’t the truth about Mohammed, nor is it the truth about what’s happening in Gaza. Mohammed suffers from cerebral palsy, according to British investigative journalist David Collier, who uncovered a local charity’s May 2025 report mentioning the boy’s condition. CNN, for its part, briefly noted in an offhand comment during a broadcast that Mohammed suffers from a “muscle disorder,” before dropping the point from later reporting. Another notable omission from virtually all media coverage were the photos of Mohammed being held by his mother with his older brother standing nearby. Both mother and brother appear healthy and fed.

“Children in Gaza are malnourished and starving,” noted an unrepentant July 29 editor’s note in the New York Times. The paper admitted it had “since learned new information” and “updated our story to add context about [Mohammed’s] pre-existing health problems.” That context would have been more useful before publishing his image on the front page and fueling global outrage.

The UN was asked why they aren’t distributing the aid in Palestine and the organization’s spokesman had no clear answer.

Some have speculated that the real answer is that the UN had previously been helping Hamas in control of Palestine. In fact, the UNRWA was caught providing aid the terror organization in 2023. However, that time may soon be coming to an end. Earlier in the week, several Arab countries, including Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Egypt, signed onto a statement calling for Hamas to disarm and end its rule of Gaza in a bid to end the devastating war in the Palestinian territory.

[Read More: Trump Says Epstein Stole Young Girls From Mar-A-Lago]

Previous
Next

You may also like

More in:News

Comments are closed.