‘A Parody of Itself’: NY Times Headline Stresses UN is Half-Clean of Terrorists

Original headline read, “UN clears half the aid workers accused of taking part in the October 7 attack.” That’s like writing, “Terrorists spare four of seven buildings at World Trade Center,” according to one commentator.

By United with Israel

The New York Times on Tuesday drew ridicule for a headline seeming to hail that the UN was half-empty of terrorists.

On Monday, UNRWA announced it would fire 9 people suspected of involvement in Hamas’ massacre of Israelis of October 7, following an investigation of 19 employees.

“For nine people, the evidence was sufficient to conclude that they may have been involved in the seventh of October attacks,” UNRWA spokesman Farhan Haq said.

For its original headline on the story, the New York Times wrote, “UN clears half the aid workers accused of taking part in the October 7 attack.”

The headline was mocked by National Review writer Michael Brendan Dougherty, who likened it to writing, “Terrorists spare four of seven buildings at World Trade Center.”

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NYT: Terrorists spare four of seven buildings at World Trade Center. pic.twitter.com/bs8MexEbjd

— Michael Brendan Dougherty (@michaelbd) August 6, 2024

Hillel Neuer of UN Watch responded that the New York Times has “become a parody of itself.”

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The New York Times has become a parody of itself. https://t.co/Hy0hGxFeJf pic.twitter.com/fIRnGHJEgj

— Hillel Neuer (@HillelNeuer) August 5, 2024

The paper later changed the article’s headline to, “UN Fires Nine Aid Workers Accused of Taking Part in Oct. 7 Attack, but Clears 10 Others.”

Just earlier this week, the New York Times had been called out for suggesting Hamas might become “more radicalized” following the death of its “political chief” Ismail Haniyeh, whom the paper last month portrayed as “relatively pragmatic.”

Former US ambassador to Israel David Friedman asked in response, “What does ‘more radicalized’ mean? The only limit on Hamas’s willingness to kill every single Jew is Israel’s power of self-defense.”