ICAN Condemns New York Times Collaboration in Hamas Information Warfare Against Israel
The Israeli-American Civic Action Network (ICAN) condemns The New York Times for its role in disseminating Hamas propaganda designed to undermine Israel and sabotage American diplomatic efforts. We express profound disappointment that some Jewish leaders, organizations, and members of Congress chose to amplify terrorist narratives rather than trust U.S. and Israeli intelligence sources.
On July 25, 2025, The New York Times published a front-page story featuring 18-month-old Mohammed Zakaria al-Mutawaq, claiming he “was born healthy but recently diagnosed with severe malnutrition” caused by Israeli actions. This claim was false.
Medical records from Gaza’s Basma Association for Relief, dated May 20, 2025, and signed by Dr. Saeed Mohammed al-Nassan, prove Mohammed suffers from cerebral palsy, hypoxemia, and genetic disorders affecting brain and muscle development. The child was born on December 23, 2023—two months after October 7—with these conditions requiring specialized nutritional supplements since birth.
HonestReporting documented that major outlets systematically cropped Mohammed’s healthy 3-year-old brother Jude from photographs, concealing evidence that contradicted their starvation narrative. The photographer, Ahmed Jihad Ibrahim al-Arini, working for Turkish state-run Anadolu Agency, had previously celebrated terrorist attacks.
“The New York Times published a story claiming a disabled child ‘was born healthy’ when medical records clearly documented serious genetic conditions since birth,” said John Mirisch, ICAN Chief Policy Officer. “This represents a fundamental failure of journalistic verification that Hamas successfully exploited for propaganda purposes. When America’s newspaper of record becomes a platform for terrorist disinformation, it undermines both press credibility and our national security interests.”
Hamas’s Coordinated Information Warfare Campaign
This deception was part of a sophisticated information warfare operation. Over a month before this current incident, the U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem warned major outlets against “willingly parroting Hamas-sourced false narratives designed to fan the flames of antisemitic hate.” The Network Contagion Research Institute documented systematic bot network deployment amplifying false narratives across social media platforms.
Concerning Response from Community
ICAN is deeply troubled that some Jewish leaders, organizations, and members of Congress chose to amplify terrorist narratives despite extensive U.S. and Israeli documentation of Hamas disinformation campaigns. We are particularly disappointed by the reflexive tendency to blame Israel rather than the terrorist organization that launched the October 7 attacks.
“We are deeply disappointed that some in our community amplified these false narratives despite extensive U.S. and Israeli documentation of Hamas propaganda operations,” said Robert Mayer, ICAN National Co-Chair. “Jewish leaders have a responsibility to exercise appropriate skepticism toward terrorist-sourced claims and support our democratic allies who face constant disinformation attacks that incite age-old antisemitism around the world. We must do better in recognizing and countering sophisticated information warfare.”
Given Hamas’s well-known and documented history of manipulating humanitarian imagery for propaganda purposes, Jewish leaders must exercise greater caution and care before accepting and amplifying terrorist-sourced narratives financed by the Kingdom of Qatar. The sophistication of Hamas information warfare makes this caution essential, not optional. ICAN encouarges enhanced community education and awareness programs to combat information warfare and influence campaigns in this volatile environment.
American Jewish leadership should also demonstrate greater respect and deference for the transparency and democratic institutions of our ally, the State of Israel—the nation that was brutally attacked by terrorists with documented genocidal objectives.
Senator Bernie Sanders called Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu a “disgusting liar” regarding Gaza conditions while citing imagery later proven manipulated. Sanders demanded U.S. action to end “atrocities and starvation” based on false Hamas narratives, despite having access to classified intelligence briefings.
As amplified by Al Jazeera, multiple members of Congress unquestioningly referenced the manipulated images in statements condemning Israel, amplifying terrorist propaganda rather than supporting democratic allies facing coordinated disinformation attacks.
This represents a failure to exercise appropriate skepticism toward terrorist-sourced information despite extensive documentation of Qatar-backed Hamas propaganda operations by reliable sources.
The New York Times as a Willing Platform
The Times was not a passive victim but an active participant in this information warfare. When confronted with medical evidence on July 30, 2025, the Times issued only a minimal correction through their secondary @NYTimesPR Twitter account, acknowledging they had “learned new information” about Mohammed’s pre-existing health problems.
This correction reached a fraction of those who saw the original front-page story, which appeared on front pages globally including CNN, BBC, The Guardian, Daily Mail, and Sky News. The original false narrative generated an estimated 2.08 million social media interactions and reached potentially 1.15 billion users within four days. The damage was done—Hamas had successfully weaponized American media to generate international pressure against Israel.
National Security Implications
This incident demonstrates how designated terrorist organizations exploit American media to undermine U.S. diplomatic efforts and democratic allies. Hamas has systematically attacked alternative aid mechanisms, threatening their control, including placing bounties on Gaza Humanitarian Foundation personnel to maintain their aid monopoly.
When trusted American institutions amplify terrorist propaganda, they undermine both journalistic integrity and national security interests, providing enemies of the United States with powerful tools for psychological warfare.
Hamas demonstrated they can successfully weaponize American media and manipulate Jewish leadership to undermine Israel and U.S. interests. This represents an existential threat to both press integrity and Jewish community security.
When key institutions like major newspapers, prominent Jewish organizations, and elected officials become distribution platforms for terrorist propaganda, they provide enemies of freedom and democracy with powerful weapons against American allies and values.
ICAN will continue to expose and combat this information warfare, demanding accountability from all who participated in amplifying terrorist narratives against our democratic allies.