Reuters Journalists Allege Pro-Israel Bias in Gaza Coverage

Reuters Journalists Allege Pro-Israel Bias in Gaza Coverage
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According to a report by Anadolu Agency, multiple employees of the news agency Reuters have come forward to allege a pro-Israel bias in the company’s coverage of the conflict in Gaza.

The report states that the concerns were raised after Reuters used the headline, “Israel kills Al Jazeera journalist it says was Hamas leader,” for its coverage of the death of Palestinian journalist Anas al-Sharif. Al-Sharif had previously worked for Reuters and had won a Pulitzer Prize.

An internal review conducted by Reuters journalists found a “consistent pattern of assigning more resources to covering stories affecting Israelis as opposed to Palestinians.” An open letter was sent by journalists to their colleagues to garner support. Following the letter, Reuters’ global news desk editor for quality and style, Howard S. Goller, sent an email with an updated editorial policy, allowing the use of the term “genocide” with attribution.

However, an analysis by Declassified UK found that even with the new policy, the term “genocide” was used in only 14 out of 300 reports and often included Israel’s denial. The analysis also revealed that the revised style guide sections on the “Gaza War” were primarily from Israel’s perspective, omitting crucial details such as the U.S. and Israel’s role in sabotaging ceasefire negotiations and the extent of destruction in Palestine. A Reuters spokesperson stated that their coverage has been “fair and impartial” and is in keeping with the Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.