On February 10, the U.S. CNN website published a news story about the death of a Palestinian child named Hind Rajab. The child, along with her family, was killed in an Israeli shelling incident that targeted a car in Tell Al Hawa, southwest Gaza, as they were heading to a safer place.
Notably, CNN's headline omitted the truth about the killing by the Israeli occupation army, merely stating that Hind was "found dead after being trapped in a car with dead relatives."
Who Is Hind Rajab?
On January 29, 14-year-old Layan Hamadeh answered a call from the Palestinian Red Crescent, following reports of a car transporting civilians in Gaza being directly targeted. During the brief call, recorded and published online by the Palestinian Red Crescent, Layan mentioned that she and her family were inside the car, and a nearby tank was firing at them. Shortly after her screams, heavy gunfire is heard before the call abruptly ends.
The Red Crescent reported that Layan was killed, while 6-year-old Hind remained trapped inside the car, surrounded by tanks and occupation soldiers. The organization added that they lost contact with a rescue crew sent out that afternoon to retrieve and save Hind, despite coordinating with the security liaison bureau.
Hind had pleaded repeatedly with the Red Crescent during a phone call that lasted over three hours before being cut off.
The Israeli storming of the area kept the fate of the child, her family, and the paramedics attempting to rescue her unknown until Saturday, February 2024, 12 days after all contact was lost.
Hind’s grandfather, speaking with Al Araby TV on Saturday, revealed that Hind was with his brother, her mother’s uncle, Bashar Hamada. Bashar, along with his wife, two daughters, and an infant, were all killed inside the car where Hind’s decomposing corpse was found.
Just 60 meters away from Hind’s family car in Tal al-Hawa, the remains of paramedics Yusuf Zaino and Ahmed Al-Madhoun were discovered inside the ambulance, which was found charred.
Rescue teams could not evacuate the bodies until the Israeli occupation forces left the area.
Most Users Only Read the Headlines of Articles
In 2016, a study by computer scientists from the University of Columbia and the French National Institute showed that 59% of the links shared on social media platforms had never been clicked. This implies that the majority of users share news without reading the articles.
The study reveled that these random shares play a role in determining which news spreads more, and thus which will form our shared political and cultural priorities.
Researchers explained browsing behavior with two factors. First, attention spans have dropped to an all-time low due to the state of distraction caused by computer programs and phone apps. This has led most users to make quick decisions about news based on their first impressions of headlines.
The second factor is effort. Sharing articles requires less time and effort than reading them. Also, sharing an article is more rewarding for a user as it earns them the attention of friends and followers, making them to believe they have read the article,. In contrast, actually reading it does not bring any external validation.
In light of this, users' contentment with reading news headlines appears as an intentional or unintentional method of deceiving their circle of followers. Even media outlets, whose editorial choices may be influenced by the reactions of users who only read their headlines.
On the flip side, media outlets could exploit this situation to deceive readers by intentionally being selective in formulating headlines and withholding details that might substantially alter readers’ impressions and reactions. The media can avoid accusations of selectivity and bias by incorporating these details into the body of articles and news stories rather than alluding to them solely in the headlines.
This is clearly evident in CNN's formulation of the headline regarding the killing of the child Hind and her family. Readers of who are not familiar with the background of the story cannot guess the manner and causes of death from the headline, even though both are known.
CNN Modifies Headline Following a Large Criticism Campaign
CNN's misleading headline sparked ridicule and anger from activists on social media. One of them commented on X, saying, “3000 Americans were found dead after being trapped in the World Trade Center on September 11,” satirizing CNN’s style in reporting on innocent Palestinians killed by the Israeli occupation forces, and aiming to highlight the difference in journalistic reporting standards according to the nationalities of the victims and those involved.
Subsequently, CNN modified the headline, replacing the phrase “After being trapped in car with dead relatives” with the phrase “after being trapped in car under Israeli fire."
CNN Faces Internal Crisis Following Pro-Israel Bias
On February 4, The Guardian, a British newspaper, reported that journalists at CNN were dissatisfied with the network’s editorial policy. They alleged that it compelled them to echo Israeli propaganda and suppress Palestinian perspectives in their coverage of the Gaza war. The journalists characterized the consequences of the network's pressure as "journalistic malpractice," attributing it to its pro-Israel bias.
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