With EVERY photo of a ‘starving’ Gazans proving fake, beware of claims of Gaza famine

You’ve sure got to wonder about all those claims that Israel is sparking starvation in Gaza when every single picture meant to illustrate it turns out to be fake.

That’s right: It wasn’t just the infamous photo of supposedly “malnourished” Muhammad Ayyoub al-Matouq that was grossly misleading; The Free Press looked at 12 other media “symbols of Gazan starvation” and found — in each and every case — the photos and stories “lacked important context.”

Forget starvation: “The subjects have cystic fibrosis, rickets, or other serious ailments,” the FP reported.

Hmm. So, all the world media desperate to offer clear evidence of famine have yet to find even a single Gazan healthy before the war but now suffering from actual starvation, and not other illnesses.

How then can anyone believe claims that hunger is widespread, let alone imply Israel is to blame?

Some reports actually seem like intentional deception: A July 29 Guardian story on Gaza famine depicted Youssef Matar as “malnourished” but omitted that he suffers from cerebral palsy — even though Reuters had noted it just days earlier.

Other outlets offer sad excuses for their fake photos: CNN blamed “agencies and local journalists” in Gaza for its story on Mosab al-Debs, 14, “suffering from malnourishment” — without mentioning that a head injury had left him paralyzed.

Similarly, excusing its story describing Atef Abu Khater, 17, as healthy pre-war but recently malnourished that failed to note a psychological shock led to him refuse food, The New York Times cited how an “official” (in Gaza, which means Hamas-directed) report listed “the cause of his death as severe malnutrition.”

We failed to ensure we weren’t just passing along propaganda is a pretty poor excuse for any news professional.

Plus: Uncovering the “missing context” for these 12 subjects “didn’t require in-depth, on-the-ground reporting,” the FP reporters noted. “It took minutes and required nothing more than a computer with stable internet connection.”

That was too tough for CNN and the Times?

And the scandals are still coming: On Monday, the BBC admitted a Gazan woman it said died of starvation actually had leukemia.

This is a pattern of shocking malpractice across multiple “high-quality” institutions.

It doesn’t just mean you can’t believe their reports of Gaza famine, it means you can’t trust any of their reporting on any Israel-Palestine issue . . . or maybe on anything at all.