The Hegemony of Media Misrepresentation: The New York Times’ Misrepresentation of the Israel-Palestine Conflict

Abstract

Many studies have claimed that the Western media coverage of the Israel-Palestine conflict is biased and misrepresented in favor of Israel. During the recent Israel-Palestine crisis that erupted on 10 May 2021 and ended with a ceasefire on 21 May 2021, the New York Times faced criticism for its biased reporting in favor of Israel and misrepresentation of the Palestinian side. The misreporting raises significant concerns over the representation of the conflict in the media, consequently, limiting the capacity of ‘resolving’ the conflict. This research argues that the factually incorrect information and misrepresentation of one party (Palestine) by the New York Times not only negates the Conflict Resolution theory but also perpetuates the conflict by displaying the other party (Israel) as victims and legitimizing their aggression. The issue is not only national but global. The misrepresentation is creating a global environment in favor of Israel that does not want resolution of the conflict because it is dominant and in power. This research, will analyze the news and editorial coverage by the New York Times of the Israel-Palestine crisis of 2021 within a context of media manipulation, misrepresentation, and linguistic determinism through content analysis under Jürgen Habermas’s theoretical model of instrumental/strategic rationality or action. Furthermore, this research will explore the knowledge dissemination through media manipulation of the New York Times, embedded in the realms of US-centric approaches of looking at peace and conflict.