US protesters target NBC, Fox, MSNBC over 'complicit' reporting on Gaza war

Pro-Palestine protesters across the United States are urging major news organisations to provide fair and accurate coverage of Israel's genocidal war on Gaza, accusing outlets of downplaying atrocities and enabling what they described as genocide.

On Tuesday, demonstrators rallied outside several media headquarters in Washington, D.C., including NBC, Fox News, MSNBC, and The Hill, all located at 400 North Capitol Street, according to Anadolu Agency.

Protesters held signs reading "Stop media complicity in genocide" and "Media lies, Gaza dies", demanding an end to biased reporting that they said distorts the reality of events in Gaza.

Organiser Hazami Barmada criticised the use of passive language in coverage, such as "people are starving" instead of "Israel is starving people",  saying this kind of framing normalises mass deaths, obscures accountability, and erases Palestinian agency

"For over 22 months, Gaza has been under relentless assault, (with) tens of thousands of people dead, many of them children," Barmada told Anadolu. "Yet many of the media continue to remain silent, evasive or complicit." 

"What comes out of this building shapes the stories that the world believes, and right now, those stories are killing people," she added. 

The protests are part of a new encampment set up outside media offices in the US capital, with activists vowing daily action to challenge what they describe as one-sided coverage.

Public criticism of mainstream media's portrayal of the Gaza war has intensified since Israel launched its military campaign on 7 October 2023.

An internal review published in March by the Al Jazeera Media Institute examined how Israeli and Western media have covered the conflict. It found that many major Western outlets downplayed Palestinian suffering and often justified Israeli military actions, in contrast to more critical Israeli publications like Haaretz.

The report cited a "pro-Israel bias, disproportionate framing of perspectives, lack of Palestinian voices, and a tendency to echo Israeli government and military narratives" as prevailing issues across mainstream coverage.

Prominent US-based journalists have echoed this critique. British-American journalist Mehdi Hasan, who left MSNBC last year, cited editorial frustrations over Gaza coverage before launching his independent media platform Zeteo.

The protests also come amid concerns over journalist safety. Agence France-Presse (AFP) recently raised alarms over the security of its reporters in Gaza, citing the rising threat of Israeli-imposed starvation and direct attacks on media workers. Press freedom groups have also warned of growing dangers for journalists covering the war.