The National Post published an opinion piece by Jesse Kline that dismisses Gaza's casualty figures as "phony," relying heavily on a single, right-wing, highly questionable study by conservative think-tank the Henry Jackson Society (HJS). This piece undermines widely accepted casualty reporting by Gaza’s Ministry of Health and fails to consider the difficulty of institutions collecting data in a genocide. Such writing amounts to genocide denial.
Poor Coverage – Media outlet to be critiqued
A CJPME Media Researcher has launched a media alert for the following article. Please submit a quick response to the media, even if it’s just a sentence or two:
Title of Piece: Jesse Kline: Exposing Hamas’s phony casualty statistics
Media Outlet: National Post
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Comments of the CJPME Media Researcher:
(Note: Please do not copy and paste the material below as the content to your message to the media - put all comments in your own words):
The National Post published an opinion piece by Jesse Kline that dismisses Gaza's casualty figures as "phony," relying heavily on a single, right-wing, highly questionable study by conservative think-tank the Henry Jackson Society (HJS). This piece undermines widely accepted casualty reporting by Gaza’s Ministry of Health and fails to consider the difficulty of institutions collecting data in a genocide. Such writing amounts to genocide denial.
- The National Post article hinges on a study by the HJS, a right-wing think tank known for promoting politically motivated narratives. Such a source lacks the objectivity required for credible analysis and contrasts starkly with data from trusted institutions like the United Nations and the International Committee of the Red Cross.
- UN agencies and reputable organizations, despite challenges the challenges of an ongoing genocide, validate Gaza MoH figures. The UN's report that 70 per cent of casualties are women and children directly counter claims of deliberate manipulation.
- The National Post trivializes the impact of institutional breakdowns in Gaza, which complicates data collection during crises. Minor anomalies in casualty reporting often result from systemic failures in war zones, not intentional deceit, as Kline’s article implies.
- While acknowledging occasional discrepancies, Le Monde reported that “inconsistencies in the Ministry’s data often stem from the chaotic conditions in Gaza, where medical staff are overwhelmed, communications are disrupted, and access to affected areas is delayed. These errors are not evidence of deliberate manipulation but reflect the immense challenges of documenting casualties in real time.” This contextualizes the minor anomalies cited in the National Post and demonstrates that they do not undermine the overall credibility of the data.
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The CJPME Media Centre Team
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