Mainstream media outlets, including CNN, NBC, and USA Today, are facing intense backlash for what have been called misleading and “vile” headlines about the brutal murder of six hostages held by Hamas in Gaza.
On Sunday, IDF spokesman Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari announced the hostages had been cruelly murdered by Hamas as Israeli soldiers closed in on their location, possibly based on intelligence provided by a hostage rescued last week.
The six hostages, whose bodies were found Saturday in a tunnel underneath Gaza — including American Israeli Hersh Goldberg-Polin — were discovered in Rafah, the same city that Vice President Kamala Harris had told Israel not to enter.
But mainstream media outlets, including CNN, NBC, and USA Today, covering the recovery of the bodies, sparked outrage by initially reporting that one of the victims had “died” rather than had been “murdered.”
The cause of the hostages’ death was not clear for about 90 minutes after Hersh Goldberg-Polin was first revealed to be among the victims, which is why some outlets may have been reluctant to use the word “murder.” Mainstream media headlines currently reflect reports by Israeli authorities that the hostages were murdered. However, screen grabs of the initial headlines continued to spark outrage after reports emerged on Sunday that Hamas terrorists had shot each of the six hostages in the head before Israeli soldiers could rescue them.
In response, critics across social media, including politicians and journalists, expressed outrage, arguing that such phrasing seriously downplays the brutality of the killings.
“Pathetic that CNN acts like these hostages of Hamas died of old age. They were murdered,” wrote former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee (R).
“Hersh was not ‘found dead,’” wrote speechwriter Aviva Klompas. “He was a young man who was very much alive on October 7. Terrorists blew off his arm before abducting him and holding him hostage for over 300 days.”
“Hersh was murdered. Murdered,” she added. “Shame on every news outlet that doesn’t make that clear.”
“It’s real. This is CNN’s headline to an American hostage being executed by Hamas,” wrote conservative commentator Stephen L. Miller.
“Has died? He was horrifically injured on October 7 by Hamas terrorists who then took him hostage & *murdered* him,” wrote Australian commentator and columnist Rita Panahi.
“Journalism ‘has died,’” wrote one popular X account. “Hersh was murdered by gunshot to the head after being abducted from a music festival, having his arm blown off and held hostage by the psychopathic Hamas scum terrorists you all keep fangirling over for 11 months.”
“Murdered. Kidnapped. Kept hostage. Tortured. Murdered. By Hamas. A terrorist organization. Do your fucking job,” wrote journalist Eve Barlow.
“When Gazans die, the media goes out of its way to pretend they are all civilians deliberately killed (even when they are Hamas terrorists),” wrote investigative journalist David Collier. “When Hamas deliberately murder six innocent Israeli hostages much of the media reports it as if these people died by accident.”
“Go figure,” he added.
“I‘m seeing the biased coverage in the foreign media as if the 6 hostages were found dead in Gaza just like that… as if they simply died of old age or a serious illness,” wrote journalist Yoseph Haddad.
“They were murdered in cold blood by Hamas!!! They were helpless civilians executed after 11 months of torture and endless suffering in tunnels 20 meters underground!!!” he added. “Do not distort reality and do not minimize what happened to them.”
“No, @USATODAY, Hersh didn’t just die. He was murdered. By Hamas terrorists,” wrote media watchdog HonestReporting.
“When @CNN reports that someone ‘has died,’ it’s usually from old age or cancer,” wrote media contributor Joel Petlin. “Hersh was kidnapped, tortured, and murdered by Hamas, and CNN can’t even be honest about that.”
“I can’t fathom the reason for a sanitized headline here, but CNN deserves to be despised for doing it,” he added.
“CNN’s false report on Hersh Goldberg-Polin’s death is a vile act of anti-Semitism & anti-Israel hate,” wrote the Israel Heritage Foundation (IHF), which was founded by Holocaust survivors to strengthen Israel’s sovereignty and battle antisemitism. “This deliberate lie reveals a callous disregard for Jewish life and perpetuates the same bigotry that led to his brutal murder.”
“CNN must apologize to the Jewish community worldwide and be held accountable for this hate speech,” the group added. “Silence is complicity.”
Though some headlines have since been corrected, the damage had already been done. Meanwhile, U.S. President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris both affirmed the hostages were brutally murdered by Hamas terrorists.
Joshua Klein is a reporter for Breitbart News. Email him at
