-
Click here to listen to this article - Share via
See more from the L.A. Times in Google Search. Set us as preferred
No one likes to think they’re being hysterical. And nothing makes hysterical people angrier than being described as such. So, let me offer my apologies in advance for what follows.
Jeremy Musighi, an independent researcher, recently released a study analyzing 14.7 million news articles published across 65 languages over the last decade. He found that, in 2024, news outlets published “more than twice as many stories about Israel as about all 48 countries of sub-Saharan Africa combined.”
Given that many countries focus on Israel to distract from their own problems, that’s not that shocking. But Musighi also found that, “On American cable news, Israel was the most-mentioned country — ahead of Iran, Russia, Ukraine, China. On the BBC’s news channel, 1 in every 17 broadcast minutes mentioned Israel.”
One might argue that given Israel’s recent actions, it earned such coverage. But Israel gets wildly disproportionate coverage in peacetime too. In 2019, long before the war in Gaza, “1 of every 112 news articles on Earth — from all the world’s outlets minus Israel’s — was primarily about Israel. 1.8 million international articles mentioned it.”
Now, I have reservations about Musighi’s methodology, given how media outlets recycle and syndicate content. But rather than wade into the statistics, for argument’s sake let’s just cut all of his findings in half. That would still be hard to defend rationally.
Also, this says nothing of the quality of the reporting. If it was objective, the quantity wouldn’t matter much. But a sizable portion is objectively anti-Israel, often taking Hamas’ claims at face value. When Hamas shrieked that Gaza was on the brink of famine, the Western press breathlessly repeated the claim, which was utterly false.
In a recent interview on Taqarrab, an Arab-language podcast, acclaimed photo “journalist” Motaz Azaiza admitted that he refused to publish images of Hamas abuses — to protect the abusers. The New York Times’ Nick Kristoff launched weeks of coverage with the claim that Israelis train dogs to rape Palestinians. American media covered the controversy over Macklemore’s criticisms of Israel like a free speech martyr.
In fairness, a lot of coverage is driven by news, like when the United Nations condemns Israel, which it has done 187 times since 2015 — nearly six times more often than it has condemned Russia, and 17 times more often than Iran or North Korea.
Founded in 1948, modern Israel is middle-aged as countries go.
Look at a list of 195 countries in order of their founding date and Israel ranks somewhere between the 85th- and 90th-oldest (if we acknowledge biblical Israel, then it’s the fourth-oldest nation in the world). And yet many talk about Israel as if it’s a sort of recent mistake, easily remedied, like outgoing mail that hasn’t been picked up yet.
Israel is only slightly older than modern Tibet, which was, according to the Chinese government, “liberated” in 1951. Many Tibetans use the term “occupied.”
We don’t hear much about “occupied Tibet” from people fixated on the evils of occupation. Nor do we hear about China’s system of apartheid — another charge casually hurled at Israel. Nor do we hear about China’s genocidal policies toward the Muslim minority Uyghur population in Xinjiang. The charge of cultural genocide is irrefutable, but there’s also strong evidence of more literal genocide thanks to the regime’s violent and coercive reproduction policies, slashing birthrates in half.
Nor do we hear much about China’s policy of settler-colonialism in Tibet and Xinjiang, where Han Chinese are incentivized to migrate as part of the regime’s policy of “sinicization.” I think China’s pretty powerful, but criticizing Israel, according to the popular online streamer Hasan Piker (who will not condemn China), is “speaking truth to power.”
To that end, we hear a lot about Israel’s occupation, settler-colonization and genocide. We don’t have the space to contend with all of these charges, so for the sake of brevity and reasonableness let’s concede, for now, the first two. Besides, it’s the false genocide charge that fuels anti-Israel obsessions more than any other. The claim is more than 40 years old. And yet, since the founding of Israel, the Palestinian population has grown more than fivefold.
When you hear that Israeli genocide proves Israelis are the “new Nazis” keep in mind that the Holocaust killed 2 out of every 3 European Jews.
A new documentary, “Naza,” that purports to prove that Israel is committing genocide bases its claim on the fact that Israel goes to great lengths to track collateral damage. Never mind that there’s no such thing as collateral damage when you intend genocide.
It should take the average reader five minutes to read this column. When “Naza” debuted at the Venice Film Festival this month, the audience’s standing ovation lasted five times as long. That, I’m sorry to tell you, is a sign of hysteria.
Insights
L.A. Times Insights delivers AI-generated analysis on Voices content to offer all points of view. Insights does not appear on any news articles.
Perspectives
The following AI-generated content is powered by Perplexity. The Los Angeles Times editorial staff does not create or edit the content.
Ideas expressed in the piece
- The piece contends that international and American media devote disproportionate attention to Israel, even compared with far larger and more populous regions facing severe conflicts. It argues that this imbalance predates the Gaza war and reflects a broader fixation rather than solely the scale of current events.
- It acknowledges reservations about the underlying study’s methodology but maintains that even substantially reduced estimates would still indicate excessive coverage. The article further argues that the problem is not merely quantity: reporting often accepts Hamas claims uncritically and gives insufficient scrutiny to allegations of Hamas abuses.
- The column argues that repeated accusations of Israeli genocide are historically and logically misleading, pointing to the substantial growth of the Palestinian population since Israel’s founding and contrasting that with the demographic devastation of the Holocaust. It presents Israel’s efforts to measure civilian harm as evidence inconsistent with an intent to destroy Palestinians.
- It also contends that critics apply occupation, apartheid, settler-colonialism and genocide standards selectively. China’s policies in Tibet and Xinjiang are offered as examples of abuses that, in the article’s view, receive far less attention than Israel’s conduct.
- Overall, the piece characterizes the intensity and direction of Israel-related coverage—including reactions to cultural criticism of Israel and a documentary on Gaza—as evidence of an emotionally driven, anti-Israel media environment.
Different views on the topic
- Humanitarian monitors dispute the article’s dismissal of famine reporting. The Integrated Food Security Phase Classification, a global food-security system used by the United Nations and aid organizations, formally classified Gaza City and surrounding areas as experiencing famine in August 2025, estimating that more than 500,000 people faced starvation, acute malnutrition and risk of death.[5][8] Israel rejected the assessment as false and biased, while the monitor cited severe restrictions on aid and access.
- The later easing of famine conditions does not erase the underlying humanitarian crisis. The IPC subsequently reported that no area was technically in famine after the October cease-fire and improved deliveries, but still estimated that more than 100,000 people remained in catastrophic conditions and about 1.6 million faced severe food insecurity.[6][9]
- The article’s claim that genocide allegations are simply disproved by Palestinian population growth is challenged by the legal framework under consideration. The International Court of Justice has not issued a final ruling on whether genocide occurred, but it found sufficient grounds to order provisional measures requiring Israel to prevent genocidal acts, preserve evidence and facilitate humanitarian assistance; in May 2024, it also ordered measures concerning the Rafah offensive and aid access.[11][12]
- Genocide allegations are not limited to Hamas or hostile foreign governments. The Associated Press reported that two prominent Israeli human-rights organizations accused Israel of committing genocide, while Israel denied the allegations.[10] Separately, a U.N.-commissioned commission of inquiry reached the same conclusion, although its findings remain contested and are not equivalent to a final judicial judgment.[7]
- The article’s assertion that media coverage is broadly anti-Israel is also disputed. A Columbia University analysis of coverage by The New York Times and Wall Street Journal found that Israeli sources were cited most frequently and that reporting often amplified Israeli perspectives, suggesting that at least some major American coverage may be more favorable to Israel than the column contends.[1][2]
- Public attention is not necessarily equivalent to media obsession. Pew Research found that 43% of U.S. adults were following the Israel-Hamas war either “not too” closely or not at all, while only 22% were following it extremely or very closely.[3] This supports a distinction between extensive news coverage and the public’s actual level of engagement.
- Critics also argue that disproportionate coverage can be justified by Israel’s direct role in the conflict, the scale of civilian displacement and hunger, U.S. involvement, and the legal and diplomatic consequences of Israeli actions. The United Nations human-rights chief cited civilian killings, restrictions on lifesaving aid, starvation and alleged war crimes while noting that serious violations in other conflicts also required condemnation.[4]
More From the Los Angeles Times
Podcasts
Greenline Housing Foundation has become something of a “first aid kit” for Eaton fire survivors, offering financial services that range from temporary housing grants to land banking that have helped some families fund their paths back home.
California once bet big on offshore wind to help power its clean-energy future, but the Trump administration is now paying developers billions to walk away from their projects. As California’s remaining offshore-wind leases hang in the balance, the state is fighting back in court.
The Hillside Strangler murders terrorized Los Angeles in the late 1970s. The killers were a pair of sadistic cousins. One confessed. The other was set to stand trial—until L.A. prosecutors flinched.
