Let's Rewrite CNN's Article on Famine in Gaza
Let's unravel the censorship in news reports about the genocide in Gaza.
CNN is no stranger to censorship or twisting narratives to suit their agenda. That has never been clearer than when they cover the genocides in Gaza, the Congo, or Sudan. For the sake of this post, we’ll be focusing primarily on an article written about the starvation in Gaza, but it does not in any way take precedence over other places facing similar humanitarian crises.
Of course, it is always important to give credit where credit is due. The co-authors of the original CNN article, “Famine in Gaza ‘around the corner,’ as people face ‘highest levels of food insecurity ever recorded,’ UN relief chief says,” are Heather Chen and Eve Brennan. Both of whom have written on Gaza and Israel before and are two main contributors to the live updates on the CNN website.
As of today, January 6th, 2024, this article is around 17 hours old. So, it is a fairly recent “report” on the genocide in Gaza. I say “report” lightly because obviously this was written from a neutral stance with sources exclusively from white sources from the UN who aren’t on the ground in Gaza.
As a general disclaimer, I am by no means trying to take credit for this article—I don’t even want credit for it.
If you’d like to read the original article for yourself, you can find it here: Famine in Gaza 'around the corner,'...
First—Let’s Rewrite the Headline
The headline itself uses evasive language. Famine isn’t '“around the corner”
in Gaza. Civilians are actively being starved and dying from starvation because Israel is destroying their supplies and refusing to allow aid to enter Gaza.
It also introduces their source, Martin Griffiths, who is a British diplomat and UN Relief Chief. As such, he’s someone that several US news outlets tend to regurgitate statements from. There isn’t anything inherently wrong with that, but more reliable sources come from journalists and diplomats in Gaza right now.
Gazans are being starved by Israel as the IDF continues to block aid from entering southern Gaza
“Signs of starvation are everywhere,” Hani Mahmoud reports from the ground in Rafah as Israel reaches new levels of cruelty as they continue refusing citizens access to clean water and food supplies.
This comes after months of the IDF restricting aid deliveries from entering Gaza and limiting fuel resources, causing a series of blackouts throughout the West Bank. Palestinians and humanitarian aid workers alike had already warned the world of the famine and disease that has followed the inaccessibility to clean water, food, and medical care.
Hospitals have been among the most affected by the fuel shortage. Only 13 of 26 hospitals in Gaza remain open and “partially functional” despite rapidly depleting resources, according to the official Let’s Talk Palestine page.
Aid agencies have expressed the consequences of the fuel shortages, stressing that the delivery of supplies is heavily dependent upon the accessibility of fuel to reach Gaza.
“The main cause is Israel’s deliberate limiting of the entry of supplies into Gaza. But [organizations] like Oxfam have concluded that more aid would barely help given the severe carpet bombing making it near impossible to deliver the aid,” Let’s Talk Palestine wrote in their broadcast channel.
The use of disease and starvation as weapons of genocide incited by the IDF becomes increasingly obvious after the series of targeted demolitions of Palestinian homes, businesses, restaurants, and slaughtering of civilians.
This goes beyond a public health disaster as thousands of Palestinians have been murdered since October 7th as Israel continues to break international laws and Gazans are being cut off from the rest of the world.
For those wondering how to support Gaza, here is a list of resources: