The ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas has dominated U.S. news headlines and, just as any other topic in the U.S. news, has become politically polarizing due to the way it has been reported. To write an educated opinion on a conflict dating back to the 19th century often paints the subject in a way that simplifies its complexities.
Due to the fact that the top news outlets in the United States have some level of media bias, the general public’s perception of the Israel-Hamas war is greatly dependent on their pre-standing political allegiances and where they choose to get their news from. It has made the issue transform from being presented as bipartisan to a partisan issue.
As of September 2023, the top five most visited online news publications are the New York Times, CNN, MSN, FOX News and Yahoo News. According to AllSides, a website that tracks the political bias of popular news outlets, all of the aforementioned media outlets have a degree of political bias in their stories, as FOX News is considered to be a right-wing news outlet and the New York Times, CNN, MSN and Yahoo News are all considered to be left-leaning or left-wing news outlets.
While both sides of the political spectrum in the U.S. have expressed their deepest concerns for the lives lost in the Israel-Hamas war, there is a difference between how the Republican party views the war and how the Democratic party views it.
In general, left-leaning news outlets such as the New York Times, CNN and MSN have avoided writing stories that urge the reader to take a political side in the war. Even in the opinion column of the New York Times, a section of the publication considered to be left-leaning, opinion pieces pertaining to the war do not demonize either side. Republicans and right-wing publications, on the other hand, have made more specific efforts to express their pro-Israel stance as opposed to the more bipartisan approach of left-leaning media publications. This has been evident in the way in which FOX News, the leading right-wing news outlet in the U.S., has chosen to report the Israel-Hamas war, placing a spotlight on the efforts made by Israeli troops. When going through the articles written by FOX News, there is a common theme in the language in articles written about the Israeli armed forces. The issue with the outlet is not the fact that they wrote stories about Israeli soldiers and civilians persevering or being heroes — it is the fact that there have been little to no efforts made by the outlet to cast Palestinians into the same humane light that has been provided to Israelis.
Furthermore, despite FOX News and other right-wing news outlets sufficiently reporting on the spike in antisemitic attacks in the U.S. following the start of the Israel-Hamas war, they did adequately not report the spike in Islamaphobic attacks that has also occurred. That being said, FOX News did report on the rise in Islamophobia only when it could be used as a critique of the Biden administration.
In addition to FOX News, other top-viewed right-wing publications have also published articles that are very apparent in their support of Israel and its efforts in the Israel-Palestine conflict.
With the growing rate of Islamaphobic attacks and crimes, the stories written by FOX News and similar right-wing media corporations only heighten the level of racial tension in the U.S. According to a recent report by the Council of American-Islamic Relations, there have been over 1,283 incidents of Islamophobia reported since Hamas attacked Israel on Oct. 7. There is a disproportionate amount of reporting for pro-Israel news and for antisemitic attacks in the U.S. that can only result in further inflaming racial tensions.
In a marketplace of free ideas, people will not only be drawn to neutral stories written about international news and politics but also to stories that seek to further their confirmation bias. This article is not written to condemn those who have made their political allegiances in the Israel-Palestine conflict. With that in mind, a responsibility should fall on news outlets to respect the fact that this conflict is too complex to be described and understood in a single article.
As Americans, we are far removed from the actual atrocities of an active war zone and, therefore, the most important element to writing about the war should be to understand that real lives are being lost and to give equal humanity to the civilians of either side.
Zachary Badalamenti, FCRH ’25, is a journalism major from Oakland, Calif.
