Crier is not taking a side in this conflict, but rather serving as a platform to share facts and allow students to share their views for readers to form their own opinions.
On Oct. 17, well-known news source, New York Times, reported on the explosion of a the Al Ahli Arab Hospital. The report led its coverage with statements from Hamas government officials saying that an Israeli airstrike caused the explosion and resulted in hundreds of people dead or injured.
Those claims were not verified to be true at the time of the report.
New York Times later apologized and said they “relied too heavily on claims by Hamas.” The cause of the explosion still has not been officially settled. Non-fact-checked claims, misleading information and bias making its way into objective news coverage has made it more difficult to navigate what is true within the media.
“It’s hard to figure out what’s actually going on,” Campbell Gideon, senior, said. “I think that getting what is happening out there is good, but there are so many lies being spread. So much misinformation is damaging to both sides.”
When the Oct. 7 surprise attacks on Hamas occurred, Simon Nirenberg, senior’s, first reaction was to check in on his brother who has been in Israel for Jewish studies. However, he was unable to reach his brother. Simon hoped that Shabbat, when Jews do not use technology from sundown on Friday to Saturday evening, was the only reason his brother was not responding.
“We knew that he wasn’t in the south, but it was still pretty nerve-wracking,” Simon said. “After we found out that he was okay, reports came in of how devastating the attack was. I usually want to stay away from issues that are so divisive, but because my brother’s there, I felt a responsibility to educate myself and develop a strong opinion that I can share and feel good about. It has been stressful to have so many ‘enemies’ for posting about it, but I am glad I have been able to share my perspective.”
Also keeping in touch with her family and sharing her perspective, Shahd Odtallah, junior, calls her relatives in Palestine to hear about the recent events and the people that have passed. She finds that speaking with her family and finding sources that show unedited photos and raw video footage are the most reliable outlets for her to stay informed.
“The press, that lets us know what is going on, cannot write when they are getting blown up every minute,” Shahd said. “Then the United States has control on their news channels, so they share what they want people to think. I post those raw, unedited sources as a constant reminder to those silent that there are people out there dying. I am a human that sees this as genocide.”
Despite the spread of some misinformation and bias in the media, Mr. Steve Lopez, history teacher, finds it important to keep his students informed on the conflict by showing the newest updates from NBC and CNN on-site reporters. However, he stresses that knowing both the history and current events of the event are both crucial to understanding the situation.
“My job is to help kids to understand the relevance of history, whether it’s 50 or 200 years ago, from then to now,” Mr. Lopez said. “The more that they’re able to make those connections, the more they’re able to help other people make those connections. If you are not aware of current events or the current history, then you cannot make those connections to the past. You’ve got to be able to do both.”
