The Washington Post faced backlash Monday for its misleading front page showing family members mourning an 11-year-old killed by what officials have said was a Hezbollah airstrike with a headline about Israeli airstrikes.
A missile strike — which Israeli authorities have said was launched from Lebanon by Hezbollah — killed at least 12 children and wounded others playing soccer on Saturday in the Golan Heights, according to CNN. The Washington Post paired the image of mourners holding a photo of Alma Ayman Fakher Eldin, one of the 12 child victims, with the headline “Israel hits targets in Lebanon” in its article. The online version of the article has a different featured image at the time of writing.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) condemned the publication’s front page on X.
“This is the front page of the @washingtonpost today,” the IDF wrote. “You can see grieving family members burying children murdered by Hezbollah in the Madjal Shams massacre. If by chance you understood anything else from their headline, you might not be the problem.”
This is the front page of the @washingtonpost today.
You can see grieving family members burying children murdered by Hezbollah in the Madjal Shams massacre.
If by chance you understood anything else from their headline, you might not be the problem. pic.twitter.com/cXuM2kNE54
— Israel Defense Forces (@IDF) July 29, 2024
Former Israeli government spokesman Elon Levy was outraged by the “backwards” headline, taking to X in response.
“That’s an image of a funeral of a girl KILLED IN ISRAEL BY A HEZBOLLAH ROCKET FROM LEBANON, so why is the @washingtonpost headline backwards?” Levy wrote on X.
That’s an image of a funeral of a girl KILLED IN ISRAEL BY A HEZBOLLAH ROCKET FROM LEBANON, so why is the @washingtonpost headline backwards? pic.twitter.com/y6RO9nMcKT
— Eylon Levy (@EylonALevy) July 29, 2024
Democratic New York Rep. Ritchie Torres called out The Washington Post for falsely portraying Israel as “the aggressor.” (RELATED: Google Faces Backlash For Apparent Censorship Of Trump Assassination Attempt From ‘Autocomplete’ Feature)
“The front-page image of today’s Washington Post is that of a child murdered by Hezbollah,” Torres wrote on X. “Yet the front-page headline— ‘Israel Hits Targets In Lebanon’ — portrays Israel, not Hezbollah, as the aggressor.”
The front-page image of today’s Washington Post is that of a child murdered by Hezbollah.
Yet the front-page headline—“Israel Hits Targets In Lebanon”—portrays Israel, not Hezbollah, as the aggressor. pic.twitter.com/qPoFzfP827
— Ritchie Torres (@RitchieTorres) July 29, 2024
Others took to social media with their disapproval, calling it a “new low” for The Washington Post.
After Iranina backed Hezbollah terrorists killed 12 Druze children who were playing soccer in Israel, the Washington Post is trying to make it appear as if they were killed by Israel
A new low for the @washingtonpost pic.twitter.com/1diHZbOE62
— Ari Hoffman (@thehoffather) July 29, 2024
Just when you thought the @washingtonpost couldn’t sink any lower… pic.twitter.com/xCjiMK1fqC
— Israel War Room (@IsraelWarRoom) July 29, 2024
“It’s sad to see a paper that was once the caliber of the Washington Post reduced to this,” Ruthless Podcast co-host John Ashbrook wrote on X.
Post runs photo of murdered 11 year old above a headline blaring “Israel hits targets in Lebanon.”
It’s sad to see a paper that was once the caliber of the Washington Post reduced to this. pic.twitter.com/yC9qusZ3G9
— John Ashbrook (@JohnAshbrook) July 29, 2024
The Washington Post’s article detailed airstrikes conducted against Hezbollah targets by the IDF inside Lebanon on Sunday, according to the Israeli military. These strikes occurred following the fatal missile strike in the Golan Heights. This comes as tensions have risen in the months after Islamic terror group Hamas launched the Oct. 7, 2023 attack against Israel, sparking the war in Gaza.
