As violent, volatile, and sometimes deadly anti-Israel protests continue around the country, much of the mainstream media coverage seems to be treating them as peace marches. "This is somewhat like what we saw during the Black Lives Matter protests of 2020, where the media is saying they're mostly peaceful," says Jeff McCall, media studies professor at DePauw University. "Actually, there have been acts of violence, there have been acts of destruction, there was desecration to the gates outside the White House, and people were banging on the doors at Grand Central Station in New York City...so we do see a double standard."
That 'double standard' is in how these pro-Palestine rallies are being covered versus past conservative rallies. "During January 6th or the Tea Party rallies, it was okay for the progressive left and the establishment media to label those Americans as extremists, and to rhetorically beat up Americans who are right of center," says McCall. "Now, the mainstream media can't really even label the Hamas atrocities as terrorism."
Indeed, some media outlets are expressly avoiding using the term 'terrorist' or 'terrorism' when referring to Hamas, and instead using terms like 'militant' or 'militant organization.' At the same time trust in media is cratering, multiple media outlets like the New York Times and CNN echoed a debunked Hamas claim that Israel had bombed a hospital in Gaza. "It's hard to imagine the news media have been doing this, but they've reported with a straight face stuff that's coming from the Hamas Information Ministry," says McCall.
"This is the problem you get when supposedly professional journalism is wrapped up in progressive dogmatism."
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