Original article (in Slovenian) was published on 11/8/2025; Author: Lara Drugovič
The mother of a malnourished child told The New York Times that her son was born healthy. After the article was published, the outlet updated the story when the child’s doctor informed the newsroom that he also had other health conditions.
On 30 July, the portal Nova24TV ran an article on media coverage of starvation in Gaza titled The New York Times admitted to misleading with photo of starving child. The outlet claimed that the Times had knowingly spread falsehoods about a child from Gaza when it placed on its front page, alongside an article on Palestinian hunger, a photo of a malnourished child from Gaza with his mother, without mentioning that the child also suffered from other health conditions in addition to malnutrition.
The New York Times reported on famine in Gaza and child malnutrition on 24 July. The front page featured a photograph of 18-month-old Mohammed in his mother’s arms. She told reporters over the phone that he had been born healthy but was now diagnosed with severe malnutrition.
The article presented the views of parents and doctors on the worsening famine, highlighted child malnutrition, and depicted the humanitarian crisis. Mohammed was one of four malnourished children profiled by the Times. According to the paper, the youngest among them had died of malnutrition at just four months old.
David Collier, a self-proclaimed “investigative journalist exposing extremism and Antisemitism” who describes himself as a Zionist, criticized the Times’ coverage on his blog on 27 July, calling it a “lie about Gaza being gripped by mass famine and children dying from hunger.”
He claimed, among other things, that the boy on the front page had cerebral palsy, movement and posture disorders, and hypoxemia (a lack of oxygen supply to body tissues) allegedly caused by a genetic disorder. Collier cited a medical report, which he said he did not publish to protect the child’s privacy. Rumours about the boy’s illness also spread on social media.
On 29 July, the Times updated its article to state that, according to Mohammed’s doctor, the boy suffered from pre-existing health problems affecting muscle and brain function in addition to severe malnutrition: “His health deteriorated rapidly in recent months as it became increasingly difficult to find food and medical care.” The paper also removed part of the mother’s quote stating that Mohammed had been born healthy.
When the piece was updated, the editor added a note explaining that the child’s pre-existing health problems had only came to light after the article was published, prompting the update. That same day, the outlet also issued a statement explaining that if they had known about the child’s other conditions before publication, they would have included that information in the article and in the photo caption.
Sandra Bašić Hrvatin, a professor at the Department of Media Studies at the Faculty of Humanities, University of Primorska, told Razkrinkavanje.si that there was no evidence the Times had knowingly misled its readers.
She explained that reporting from war zones is extremely challenging, but basic journalistic standards must still be upheld. She also pointed out that Gaza is closed to foreign reporters but not to local ones, who should be included in coverage if the media aim to report credibly on events in Gaza.
In Professor Bašić Hrvatin’s view, the Times’ response was inadequate. While the paper explained the cause of the mistake, she considered it an unprofessional editorial decision (possibly made to create a greater emotional impact) to choose that particular photo. However, she added: “The photograph of the boy, who was later found to have other illnesses, does not change the fact that there is a war in Gaza and that the primary victims are civilians.”
In a 2019 review paper published in Paediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology & Nutrition, two Croatian paediatricians and researchers found that most children with cerebral palsy experience feeding difficulties and often digestive problems, making them more vulnerable to malnutrition. Meeting their nutritional needs sometimes requires tube feeding or more calorie-dense food.
According to the UN’s World Food Programme, more than 500,000 people in Gaza are suffering from hunger, including over 320,000 children at risk of acute malnutrition. The agency has warned that humanitarian aid delivery and distribution are restricted, basic nutrition services have collapsed, and infants lack access to clean water, milk substitutes, and therapeutic foods.
“The number of malnourished children in the Gaza Strip is rising at an alarming rate,” UNICEF warned in a June press release. From the start of the year until the end of May, an average of 112 children a day were admitted for treatment for malnutrition. Based on data gathered by Gaza nutrition centres funded with UNICEF support, health facilities in May alone admitted more than 5,000 children under the age of five for acute malnutrition, an increase of more than 50% compared to the previous month.
A similar piece to Nova24TV’s, headlined The New York Times admitted manipulation with photo of child from Gaza, was also published by Portal24. Neither portal has yet responded to Razkrinkavanje.si’s findings; their responses will be published when we have received them.
Several foreign outlets, including Fox News and Breitbart, reported on the Times’ correction, citing Honest Reporting, a US-Israeli non-governmental organization that reacts, partly with the help of donations, to what it considers inaccurate and biased reporting on Israel. The group also lobbies against journalists it deems biased against Israel.
The claim that “the American New York Times knowingly spread falsehoods about a child from Gaza” is, according to Razkrinkavanje.si’s methodology, false.
