Journalism professors urge 'independent review' of New York Times 7 October sexual violence report
Over 50 tenured professors from top US universities signed a letter on Monday calling on The New York Times to commission an independent review of the paper's reporting which described a "pattern of gender-based violence" during the Hamas-led 7 October attack on southern Israel.
The professors said they felt the need to raise this issue after seeing "compelling reports" challenging the integrity of the reporting.
The professors, who come from universities such as New York University, the University of Pennsylvania, Emory and the University of Texas, amongst others, are urging that an independent group of journalism experts "conduct a thorough and full independent review of the reporting, editing and publishing processes for this story and release a report of the findings”.
Their letter is the latest blow to a December article that was widely cited and shared by pro-Israel voices to justify Israel's military onslaught on the besieged Gaza Strip.
Social media users revealed in February that the co-author of the report had liked a social media post calling for Gaza to be turned into a “slaughterhouse" and was perpetuating debunked claims that 40 babies were beheaded by Hamas.
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Meanwhile, family members of one of the alleged victims contradicted the claims made in the report, saying it was not yet known whether their family member had been raped, while others denied altogether.
One professor suggested that The New York Times article was published before a thorough investigation to influence US public opinion in support of Israel.
“As the death toll mounted in Gaza, and criticism was beginning to focus more on Israel, the New York Times released this story, which seems to have been published prematurely,” Sandy Tolan, at the University of Southern California, said.
In a further blow to the article's credibility, The New York Times reported in March that new video evidence "undercut" some details in their story.
The journalism professors said the paper's decision not to publish a correction or retraction of the original piece was an "unusual decision".
The New York Times has also faced internal criticism of the article. After newsroom staffers voiced concerns about the piece, the paper cancelled a planned podcast on the report, according to The Intercept.
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