Media bias on display: the headlines should have been “Hamas terror tunnels beneath ANZAC cemetery in Gaza turn cemetery into military target, responsible for destruction of veteran headstones”

Recently a number of news outlets including the Herald and Newstalk ZB published articles about the IDF’s desecration of ANZAC graves in Gaza. Headlines included for example “New Zealand World War 1 graves among those bulldozed at Gaza cemetery”: https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/new-zealand-world-war-i-graves-among-those-bulldozed-at-gaza-cemetery/3BU24SYRSNFSHGPWOBP2PT7PP4/ and “Graves of 20 NZ soldiers killed in WW1 and WW2 bulldozed by IDF at Gaza cemetery”: https://www.newstalkzb.co.nz/news/national/new-zealand-world-war-i-graves-among-those-bulldozed-at-gaza-cemetery/ There was similar reporting in overseas publications like The Guardian.

Although the truth was reported in the body of the articles, the headlines had people contacting me on social media asking for comment and expressing their outrage at the IDF’s actions. To me this shows how disingenuous the relevant media outlets are. Headlines frame a story. In fact, not everyone reads more than the headline.

The truth is that (a) there were underground terror tunnels beneath the cemetery which the IDF needed to destroy and (b) the cemetery itself was an active combat zone above ground. In response, for the safety of its own troops, the IDF destroyed the cemetery. But that doesn’t lend itself to biased clickbait headlines.

It is despicable that Hamas turned a veteran cemetery into a military target, and that should be the real story. Hamas has no respect whatsoever for deceased New Zealanders or Australians, just as it has no respect for living New Zealanders and Australians. It would gladly kill every single one of us for not sharing their beliefs just as it murdered Israeli civilians en masse on October 7 2023.

The post Media bias on display: the headlines should have been “Hamas terror tunnels beneath ANZAC cemetery in Gaza turn cemetery into military target, responsible for destruction of veteran headstones” first appeared on Kiwiblog.