The US newspaper has become the first to publicly correct a picture that showed a child from Gaza seemingly malnourished, despite in reality, suffering from a medical problem
July 30, 2025 09:43
The New York Times has become the first outlet to publicly correct the record after featuring an image of a Gazan child with a pre-existing medical condition as evidence of starvation in the Strip.
The images of Mohammed Al-Matouq's emaciated frame were published widely in the international media, and the New York Times ran it on the front page.
However, most of the coverage failed to mention that the toddler suffers from a muscular disorder, meaning he requires nutritional supplements and physiotherapy to maintain a healthy weight, and was not representative of a normal Gazan child.
A spokesperson for the paper said: "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... 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."
The correction does not appear to have made this morning's front page.
The paper's statement was also met with derision from some in Israel.
Former prime minister Naftali Bennett said: "This is simply unbelievable.
"After generating a tsunami of hate towards Israel with that terrifying picture, the NYT now quietly admits that the boy has preexisting conditions.
"This is a blood libel in 2025. Have you no shame?"
As well as the NYT, the picture made the front page of The Express and was published on countless news sites including the BBC and the Daily Mail.
The BBC aired an interview with the photographer who took the pictures under the headline: “The story behind the harrowing photograph of a starving Gaza baby.”
The Daily Mail did the same under the caption: “Reduced to skin and bones in Gaza: Horrifying story behind photo of starving child with a plastic bag as a nappy.”
The truth behind the photograph emerged when Honest Reporting, a pro-Israel media monitoring organisation, pointed out that the reports left out the fact that Mohammed suffers from a “muscular disorder”, which “requires ongoing physical therapy and specialised nutrition”.
Honest Reporting said: "Muhammad is not simply a victim of starvation. His condition stems from a health disorder, not from a lack of food caused by Israel.
Likewise, pro-Israel investigator David Collier published pictures from the same image set, showing Mohammed’s mother and three-year-old brother showing no visible signs of malnutrition and appearing “healthy and fed”.
Collier said: “This is a propaganda war — and images like this are its weapons.
“The people who suffer are not just Israelis. They’re Palestinians too. And our media has become a vital part of that machine.
“It isn’t just a journalistic collapse — it’s a moral disgrace.”