A new study reveals that The New York Times consistently downplayed Israeli suffering following Hamas’s October 7 attack while disproportionately focusing on Palestinian casualties, often omitting key facts that would provide readers with a fuller picture of the conflict. The study, conducted by Yale professor Edieal Pinker, analyzed 1,561 New York Times articles published between October 7, 2023, and June 7, 2024. It found that coverage overwhelmingly portrayed Israel as the aggressor and largely ignored ongoing Hamas attacks and Israeli casualties during the war. While the Times initially acknowledged Hamas’s brutal massacre of 1,200 Israelis, its subsequent reporting shifted to a narrative in which Palestinian suffering took center stage, often presenting Palestinians as passive victims while minimizing Hamas’s role in perpetuating the war. The study found that: 70% of articles fit the dominant anti-Israel narrative. Nearly 1,500 articles failed to mention Hamas combatant deaths—giving the impression that Israel was only targeting civilians. More than 93% of articles mentioned Israel more frequently than Hamas, falsely suggesting that Israel had sole responsibility for the war. 364 Israeli soldiers and 34 civilians were killed after October 7, yet these deaths were rarely covered. Even Palestinian violence was largely ignored, with only 18% of war-related articles mentioning attacks by Palestinian terrorists after October 7. The study also highlighted how the Times repeatedly ignored Israeli suffering beyond the immediate October 7 attacks, including the plight of hostages, grieving families, and the economic devastation caused by the war. Meanwhile, there were two-week-long gaps where no Israeli casualties were reported, despite Hamas continuing to launch rockets into Israeli cities. Former Secretary of State Antony Blinken had previously called out the media’s failure to cover Hamas’s ongoing role in the war, saying, “You hear virtually nothing from anyone since October 7 about Hamas… Why there hasn’t been a unanimous chorus around the world for Hamas to put down its weapons, to give up the hostages, to surrender?” The New York Times defended its reporting, claiming it has covered the war “with more rigor than virtually any other U.S. news organization.” However, Pinker’s study suggests the newspaper’s selective coverage has created a misleading narrative that absolves Hamas of its responsibility for the war while painting Israel as the sole aggressor. (YWN World Headquarters – NYC)