Pressure is mounting on Reuters as its own staff blow the whistle on the news agency’s pro-Israel bias, after a photojournalist resigned over the platform amplifying Israel’s “countless lies” against Palestinian journalists.
Canadian photojournalist Valerie Zink has resigned after eight years with the Britain-based news agency, criticising its stance on Gaza as a “betrayal of journalists” and accusing Reuters of “justifying and enabling” the killing of 245 journalists in the Palestinian enclave.
“At this point it’s become impossible for me to maintain a relationship with Reuters given its role in justifying and enabling the systematic assassination of 245 journalists in Gaza,” Zink posted on X on Tuesday.
Zink said she worked as a Reuters stringer for eight years, with her photos published by many outlets, including The New York Times, Al Jazeera, and others worldwide.
She criticised Reuters’ reporting after the killing of Anas Al-Sharif and an Al Jazeera crew in Gaza, accusing the agency of amplifying Israel’s “entirely baseless claim” that Al-Sharif was a Hamas operative, which was “one of countless lies that media outlets like Reuters have dutifully repeated and dignified,” she said.
“I have valued the work that I brought to Reuters over the past eight years, but at this point I can’t conceive of wearing this press pass with anything but deep shame and grief,” Zink added.
Zink also emphasised that the agency’s willingness to “perpetuate Israel’s propaganda” has not spared their own reporters from Israel’s genocide.
Subscribe to our newsletter and stay updated on the latest news and updates from around the Muslim world!
“I don’t know what it means to begin to honour the courage and sacrifice of journalists in Gaza, the bravest and best to ever live, but going forward I will direct whatever contributions I have to offer with that front of mind,” Zink highlighted, reflecting on the courage of Gaza’s journalists.
“I owe my colleagues in Palestine at least this much, and so much more,” she added.
Referring to the killing of five more journalists, including Reuters cameraman Hossam Al-Masri, in Israel’s Monday attack on the Nasser hospital in Gaza, Zink said: “It was what’s known as a “double tap” strike, in which Israel bombs a civilian target like a school or hospital; waits for medics, rescue teams, and journalists to arrive; and then strikes again.”
Pro-Israel bias exposed
The widely reported resignation over the platform’s Gaza coverage is an unwelcome embarrassment at a time when Reuters is facing internal protests by its staff over alleged pro-Israel bias.
Multiple employees spoke out in a report released on 21 August about what they see as an editorial line with a provable track record of favouring Israel over Palestine.
The latest incident that led to a backlash over Reuters’ biased reporting was when Israel killed Palestinian journalist Anas al-Sharif earlier this month before justifying the assassination as targeting a leader of Hamas, a claim rubbished by his colleagues and employers.
Although al-Sharif previously worked for the newswire, even winning a 2024 Pulitzer Prize for his work there, Reuters used the headline “Israel kills Al Jazeera journalist it says was Hamas leader” for their coverage of al-Sharif’s death.
The public backlash was not limited to the billion-viewer audience of the global newswire nor to this incident, as the concern it sparked among some staff at Reuters produced an internal review of bias within their reporting.
An internal study by Reuters journalists, and reported on by Declassified UK, analysed 499 reports tagged as “Israel-Palestine” published between 7 October and 14 November, 2023 and found a “consistent pattern of assigning more resources to covering stories affecting Israelis as opposed to Palestinians.”
“A comprehensive internal investigation, conducting both quantitative and qualitative analyses of our reporting” took place, according to a Reuters source, which told Declassified UK: “A few weeks after the 7 October attack, several journalists at Reuters recognised that our coverage of the Israel-Gaza war lacked objectivity.”
“The findings formed the basis of an open letter, which was shared internally to identify and connect journalists within the newsroom who are committed to strengthening Reuters’ journalism on Gaza,” the source said.
Its authors also complained that: “one clear-cut example of how our wording implies bias is in our choice to prohibit use of “Palestine.” While Palestine may not be recognised as a state in some Western countries, we do not need to pretend that it is not a real place.”
The group then questioned why Reuters had not reported more on claims by experts that Israel was committing genocide in Gaza, contrasting it with how the newswire approached such allegations about Russia’s conduct in Ukraine.
In light of all of this, a Reuters spokesperson told UK Declassified that they believed their coverage “has been fair and impartial, in keeping with the Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
“As in many newsrooms, our coverage of the war has come under close scrutiny, including by our own journalists, and we have faced feedback from multiple places.”
Gaza killing fields
Israel has killed more than 62,700 Palestinians in Gaza since October 7, 2023. The military onslaught has devastated the enclave which is now facing famine.
Last November, the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former Defence Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.
Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) for its war on Gaza.
On Monday, a double Israeli strike on one of the last hospitals in southern Gaza has killed five journalists, including a reporter with The Independent’s partner publication Independent Arabia.
Maryam Abu Daqqa, 33, who worked for Independent Arabia and Associated Press was killed alongside Al Jazeera camera operator Mohammed Salama, Reuters cameraman Hussam al-Masri, and freelance journalist Moaz Abu Taha.
Ahmed Abu Aziz, who freelanced for UK-based media outlet Middle East Eye later died from his injuries, the organisation said.
Israel claimed an inquiry had been opened into the strike, with the Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu saying Israel regretted what he sought to claim was a “tragic mishap.”
