The New York Times journalists were instructed not to use the words "genocide" and "ethnic cleansing".
The New York Times has instructed its journalists covering Israel's war in Gaza to refrain from using the terms "genocide" and "ethnic cleansing" and not to use the term "occupied territory" in reference to Palestine. It was also ordered to reduce the use of the word "Palestine" and to avoid the terms "refugee camp".
The influential US newspaper The New York Times has ordered journalists covering Israel's war in the besieged Gaza Strip to limit the use of the terms "genocide" and "ethnic cleansing" and not to use the phrase "occupied territory" in reference to Palestine, according to The Intercept, citing leaked service guidelines.
The newspaper's management also instructs staff not to use the word "Palestine" "except in very rare circumstances" and to avoid the term "refugee camp" when describing the Gaza Strip.
It is noted that this description of the "occupied territory" and the status of refugees in Gaza by The New York Times contradicts the norms established by the UN and international humanitarian law.
A source told The Intercept that despite all the UN resolutions recognizing Israel as an occupying power, avoiding the term "occupied territories" hides the true nature of the conflict and is consistent with Israel's official interpretation.
"Although the occupation is the essence of the conflict, you remove the term when covering the events," said a source in the editorial office.
In January, The Intercept published an analysis of the New York Times, Washington Post and Los Angeles Times coverage of Israel's war under occupation. According to him, from October 7 to November 24, major newspapers used the words "massacre", "horrific" and "horrific" almost exclusively for the dead Israeli civilians, but not for the killed Palestinian civilians. For example, the New York Times described the deaths of Israelis as "massacre" 53 times, but used it only once in relation to Palestinians. Despite the fact that the documented number of Palestinians killed at the time was about 15,000, the ratio of using the term "genocide" was 22 to 1.
