1. Misleading Terminology
“If thought corrupts language, language can also corrupt thought.” – George Orwell
Language can be used to promote an agenda. The media must exercise caution when consciously choosing to adopt (or avoid) certain terms.
Many phrases have been weaponized against Israel. Below is a small sample of those that downplay realities on the ground, are emotionally charged, or deliberately manipulate international law. The inclusion of any of them within a broadcast, article, or post should immediately raise a red flag:
a. “Cycle of violence” or “tit-for-tat”
b. 1967 borders, or Green Line
c. Genocide, ethnic cleansing
d. Military wing vs. political wing
e. Tel Aviv (when discussing the seat of government)
f. IOF: Israeli Occupation Forces
Redefining words to fit a pre-defined narrative also misleads the audience. This is exactly what so-called experts have done with “famine,” loosening requirements and discounting certain statistics in order to accuse Israel of creating a man-made humanitarian crisis.
How experts with a hidden agenda forged facts to fake a “famine.”🧵 pic.twitter.com/xsak3NVhYn
— HonestReporting (@HonestReporting) August 26, 2025
Likewise, the definition of genocide has been manipulated to level a grave and false accusation against Israel. Instead of proving genocidal intent, there is a campaign to broaden the definition of the crime, solely to incriminate Israel.
The UN’s “genocide” case was rigged from the start.🧵 pic.twitter.com/iAcdSK2p00
— HonestReporting (@HonestReporting) September 19, 2025
2. Imbalanced Reporting
Journalism distorts news through disproportionate coverage, presenting only one side of the story, misrepresenting fringe views as mainstream, or burying important contextual information.
If one were only watching Sky News, viewers would not know what this “attack near Rafah” is referring to. By only reporting on Hamas’ claims and leaving out the IDF statement entirely, Sky News has produced a classic example of imbalanced and biased coverage.
“The Gaza ceasefire holds by a thread, not helped by an Israeli aerial attack near Rafah on Sunday which, Hamas says, killed two police officers working on the safe delivery of aid.”
Why does @SkyNews report only the claims of a terrorist organization without including an IDF… pic.twitter.com/ugGdm1XAfi
— HonestReporting (@HonestReporting) February 17, 2025
3. Opinions Disguised as News
A journalist’s job is to report facts without infecting their own opinion or interpretation of events. Even properly labeled commentary (in the op-ed section or sidebars labeled as analysis) requires a modicum of objectivity. Opinions must be based on accurate information, sound logic, and expressed respectfully.
By referring to an ancient Jewish site as “controversial,” The Washington Post is diminishing the historic Jewish connection to the Land of Israel and injecting an opinion into an otherwise standard news article.
.@washingtonpost: “Rubio will visit the inauguration of a controversial archaeological site in East Jerusalem built by an Israeli settler group in a Palestinian neighborhood.”
Translation: Rubio will attend the opening of an ancient tunnel that connected Jerusalem to the Temple… pic.twitter.com/hOnXMaqdWj
— HonestReporting (@HonestReporting) September 14, 2025
4. Lack of Context
Context describes the conditions in which something happens. Without a frame of reference for readers, journalists can dramatically distort the true picture.
During Operation Iron Swords, Israel bombed Hamas leaders who were sheltering inside a tunnel complex built beneath the Jabaliya Refugee Camp.
One might ask why Palestinians in Gaza live in a “refugee camp” or why a neighborhood of apartment complexes is referred to as a “refugee camp.”
But there is no question that the way this Washington Post columnist phrased her tweet was purposefully misleading.
They bombed a refugee camp.
A. Refugee. Camp. https://t.co/lz96tZwxlD
— Karen Attiah (@KarenAttiah) October 31, 2023
5. Selective Omission
By choosing to report certain events over others or withholding key details, the media control access to information.
Following the October 2025 ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, the United States warned of an imminent attack against civilians in Gaza. By omitting the salient fact that Hamas planned the attack, the BBC subtly influenced its audience to conclude that Israel was about to attack civilians.
🚨 HEADLINE FAIL: The US warned that *Hamas* is planning an imminent attack. On its own people.
But @BBCNews prefers its audience assume that Israel is accused of a potential ceasefire breach.
We’ve fixed it for you, BBC. pic.twitter.com/9nXAUZ8s29
— HonestReporting (@HonestReporting) October 19, 2025
6. Using True Facts to Draw False Conclusions
Even if all the facts are accurate, it’s still possible for journalists to draw illogical conclusions.
A family in an Arab-Israeli town was tragically killed in an Iranian ballistic missile attack.
CNN took this opportunity to blame Israel for not building enough bomb shelters in specifically Arab-Israeli communities and accuse the Jewish state of discrimination against its non-Jewish minority.
It did not mention that not all Israelis – no matter their background – have access to a bomb shelter in their home.
Iranian ballistic missiles are indiscriminately targeting Israeli civilians of all ethnicities.
Thousands of them, without access to bomb shelters, have been forced to spend hours sheltering in stairwells.
But this is @CNN‘s shameful agenda-driven angle. pic.twitter.com/i54CstnAey
— HonestReporting (@HonestReporting) June 16, 2025
7. Distortion of Facts
Getting the facts wrong. Sometimes this is a result of the 24-hour news cycle and the need to be first to publish. But not always.
The “journalism of assertion” is the idea that reporters can ease up on independent verification of facts if information is directly attributed to someone. But even the most well-meaning of eyewitnesses (which in and of itself isn’t always a given) can have faulty memories or an incomplete understanding of what they witnessed.
Another worrying trend is mistranslation. Arabic has words for Israel and Zionist, yet Western translators frequently cover for antisemitism by translating “Yahud” as “Israeli” instead of “Jew.”
In this instance, Sky News claims that an Arabic chant about destroying an Arabian Jewish tribe is simply “chanting and celebrating” the ceasefire, whitewashing the hate that is on display in the video.
They were chanting ‘Khaybar Khaybar ya Yahud’—an explicit threat to slaughter Jews. But for @SkyNews, it was just Palestinians ‘celebrating’ the ceasefire. With reporting like this, how can anyone trust the media? pic.twitter.com/9jjTDwsT1Y
— HonestReporting (@HonestReporting) January 19, 2025
8. Lack of Transparency
Failing to be open and accountable to readers.
Reporters are human. They have biases. That’s to be expected, which is why disclosures matter. A simple editor’s note that holds a prominent place within an article can build trust with a reader, allowing them to better judge the veracity of what they are reading.
When CNN journalists were embedded with the IDF in Gaza during Operation Iron Swords, this is how they presented the article.
Yet, when journalists report from Gaza, where there is no freedom of the press, there is never any such disclaimer. There is no disclosure that Hamas rules with an iron fist and controls the flow of information.
This lack of uniformity and transparency tricks readers into believing that all information is equally valid, as opposed to helping them understand when some information should be treated with caution.
BONUS – Beware of ‘The Halo Effect’
Reporters commonly cite international agencies, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), activists, and academics as authoritative sources beyond reproach. Their expertise needs to be balanced against a journalist’s duty to independently verify facts.
Just recently, a Human Rights Watch senior employee accused her organization of “years of politicization of its Israel-Palestine work that has frequently violated basic editorial standards related to rigor, balance, and collegiality, when it comes to Israel.”
It is imperative that journalists understand and explain that expertise can exist alongside agenda, and account for that within their reporting.
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