Brian Stelter, former host of “Reliable Sources” on CNN, took the mainstream media to task on Wednesday while discussing the recent coverage of the explosion at a hospital in Gaza.
Many outlets took the Palestinian Ministry of Health’s word at face value and ran with the claim that Israel was responsible for the blast. Israel denied wrongdoing, and the U.S. Defense Department has since independently concluded that it was most likely a misfire from the group Palestinian Islamic Jihad.
“Sometimes, Dan, you’re out there criticizing the media and I want to defend the media, but there is no defense here,” Stelter told NewsNation’s “Dan Abrams Live.” “This was an atrocious series of mistakes by many different major newsrooms all around the same time on Tuesday and unfortunately I don’t think there’s been enough follow-up or accountability to make sure it doesn’t happen again.
“I’ve noticed oftentimes in breaking news stories, breaking news scenarios, when information is lowest, interest is highest, and by the time we actually know the facts, people move on,” he continued. “Well, this was one of those cases, but it was even worse because when the stakes are highest, it seems the standards were the lowest, and it should be the opposite. The standard should be the highest when the stakes are as high as they are right now.”
The former CNN host called the media's coverage of Tuesday's blast "disturbing," particularly because there's not been much in the way of follow up.
"War is already hell, it should not be made worse by misreporting, but I fear that on Tuesday the media made a bad situation worse," Stelter said. "They actually did harm as opposed to trying to do the opposite.”
When news breaks, and public interest is highest, information is lowest.
— Brian Stelter (@brianstelter) October 19, 2023
This was true on Tuesday when there was an explosion at a hospital in Gaza.
It seemed that when the stakes were highest, newsroom standards were the lowest. That's what needs to be addressed pic.twitter.com/cv8GgIzqcV