Peddle a false narrative, backtrack after outrage, issue ‘clarification’ instead of apology. This has been the modus operandi of The New York Times for quite a while. Days after using pictures of Palestinian boy Muhammad Zakariya Ayyoub al-Matouq, an emaciated child who suffers from a genetic disorder, and passing them off as the result of Israel-inflicted starvation in Gaza, the New York Times has issued a ‘clarification’.
A statement issued by an NYT spokesperson on the X handle of NYTimes Communication and not the main handle of the publication, says that they updated their story to add context about his pre-existing health problems. The New York Times did not apologise for passing off a child’s congenital medical condition, pictures of his protruded spine and skeletal boy as a consequence of Israel’s ‘blockade’ of aid into Gaza. Instead of apologising, the NYT went on to pat its own back for reporting from Gaza ‘bravely, sensitively, and at ‘personal risk’.
“Children in Gaza are malnourished and starving, as New York Times reporters and others have documented. We recently ran a story about Gaza’s most vulnerable civilians, including Mohammed Zakaria al-Mutawaq, who is about 18 months old and suffers from severe malnutrition. We have since learned new information, including from the hospital that treated him and his medical records, and have updated our story to add context about his pre-existing health problems. This additional detail gives readers a greater understanding of his situation. Our reporters and photographers continue to report from Gaza, bravely, sensitively, and at personal risk, so that readers can see firsthand the consequences of the war,” the statement published on 30th July 2025 reads.
In a subsequent post, the NYT attached the article in question and said that the publication has added an editor’s note below the article headlined: “Gazans Are Dying of Starvation”.
“This article has been updated to include information about Mohammed Zakaria al-Mutawaq, a child in Gaza suffering from severe malnutrition. After publication of the article, The Times learned from his doctor that Mohammed also had pre-existing health problems,” the NYT editor’s note read.
Displaying peak shamelessness, the NYT has now removed the editor’s note.
As reported earlier, other than the New York Times, several other Hamas-sympathising news outlets like NBC News, CNN, The Guardian, BBC, Daily Express, Daily Mail, Seattle Times, The Age (Australia), Osservatore Romano (official paper of the Vatican) among others also featured pictures of emaciated Palestinian boy Muhammad Zakariya Ayyoub al-Matouq, cradled in his mother’s arms, in their Gaza reports, passing the images off as a face of Israel-inflicted starvation in Gaza.
OpIndia pointed out earlier that while the media outlets picked Muhammad Zakariya Ayyoub al-Matouq’s pictures with his mother, which aligned with their narrative, in one of the pictures, Muhammad Matouq’s older brother (as claimed by some reports) can be seen standing. In the picture, the other boy looks well-nourished, healthy and mentally sound. None of the propaganda outlets that used Matouq and his mother’s pictures used the picture featuring the other boy, reported to be Matouq’s brother, since the picture would have punctured their lies.
Matouq’s mother herself revealed to CNN that Matouq suffers from a rare muscle disorder. She added that her son receives specialised nutrition and physical therapy for his condition. OpIndia also predicted that given the past record of backtracking after outrage, NYT and other propaganda outlets may put up a ‘clarification’ and get away without apologising.
