Journalist admits: Anti-Israel narrative driving protests is based on Hamas lies

Journalist Motaz Azaiza’s new revelations exposing “SMART,” a Hamas-controlled group of reporters used to manage the media narrative about Gaza, reveal uncomfortable but important truths about nearly two decades of journalism.The world has relied on a media ecosystem that forced journalists to operate within red lines set by Hamas — under threat of punishment if their coverage ever crossed the terror group.That reality was too often lost by the time Gaza’s stories reached Western TV screens and newspaper pages — and it drove college-campus protests and breathless claims by so-called activists, as false allegations emerging from the coastal enclave were repeated as unquestioned facts.But Azaiza’s revelation should come as no surprise: Ever since its violent takeover after Gaza’s 2007 civil war, Hamas has tightly controlled the narrative to influence the story that reaches the outside world.Its goal has been to shape positive coverage of its iron-fisted rule and to legitimize its narrative of “resistance” — that is, violence against Israel.In 2013, Hamas’ Interior Ministry brought Gazan journalists and social-media activists together for a workshop, coaching them on how to report news in Gaza.Among the attendees was Abu Ubayda, Hamas’ infamous military spokesman and one of its most prominent propagandists, who was eliminated by Israel in 2025.Hamas made it clear during the session that the press’ role is “no less important than that of the resistance on the ground.”But the message was not only one of encouragement: The terror group made it clear that reporters would pay a steep price if they did not adhere to the Hamas line.In 2016, Hamas arrested Mohammed Othman, a journalist working for al-Monitor, for exposing medical errors occurring in Gaza’s hospitals.Hamas later barred him from entering those facilities.In 2019, Hamas detained 12 journalists for covering protests against Hamas’ rule and the economic situation in Gaza.The rep...