Gaza Media Under Hamas Control Fueled Anti-Israel Protests With Disinformation

Palestinian photojournalist Motaz Azaiza has revealed details about Hamas's nearly two-decade control over media structures in the Gaza Strip, according to The New York Post. Since seizing power in 2007, the militant group reportedly enforced strict censorship, threatening local reporters and filtering all content before it reached international audiences. A 2013 seminar for journalists and bloggers, attended by a Hamas representative, emphasized the press's role akin to armed factions, with severe penalties for deviation.

Hamas repeatedly arrested journalists for unfavorable reporting, including Mohammed Othman in 2016 for covering medical errors and twelve individuals in 2019 for reporting on economic protests. This pressure continued after October 7, 2023, with journalists allegedly beaten for attempting to report on local discontent. This censorship resulted in one-sided information reaching Western and regional media outlets, with Al Jazeera reportedly cutting live broadcasts critical of Hamas and documents suggesting coordination between the broadcaster and the militants.

Azaiza stated he filmed Israeli hostages being beaten by a crowd in Gaza on October 7, 2023, but deliberately withheld the footage to protect the participants from identification, as reported by The Jerusalem Post. In a podcast, Azaiza publicly criticized Hamas leadership for the catastrophe in Gaza and the deaths of tens of thousands of civilians, also describing pressure on independent reporters through a messaging group called 'Smart' used to organize harassment campaigns.

Azaiza left Gaza four months after the conflict began, expressing deep devastation and psychological trauma from the unbearable cost of political leaders' decisions on the Palestinian people. His revelations challenge the objectivity of much Gaza-sourced material that has been used to fuel global anti-Israel protests.