The New York Times is defending its high-profile story published in December regarding sexual violence deployed by Hamas terrorists who sparked the Israel-Gaza war, following both internal and external scrutiny of its veracity.
The story titled, “‘Screams Without Words’: How Hamas Weaponized Sexual Violence on Oct. 7,” painted a horrifying picture of the number of atrocities Hamas committed, specifically against Israeli women during its initial attack. The Times piece argued that these were not isolated instances but rather a broader pattern of strategically used sexual violence.
The Times reporting, by Pulitzer Prize winner Jeffrey Gettleman and freelancers Anat Schwartz and Adam Sella, has been brought into question by individuals at the Times and by an extensive piece by The Intercept, which cast doubt on the claim of a systematic rape.
In an extensive 7,000-word piece, The Intercept questions the reporting of the Times piece, bringing forth reporting that even a victim’s family members questioned.
The Intercept specifically focused on Schwartz, who has come under fire recently for her social media activity, liking various pro-Israel posts on X. The Times responded to concerns about Schwartz’s social media activity by labeling it “unacceptable violations,” and saying that the matter was being reviewed.
However, the Times’ continues to stand by the original reporting.
On Thursday, a Times spokesperson backed the story saying, “We remain confident in the accuracy of our reporting and stand by the team’s investigation which was rigorously reported, sourced and edited.”
The Times also sought corrections to The Intercept’s reporting, disputing how the outlet described how the reporting was conducted, characterizations of Schwartz’s military service, and the claim that forensic evidence was “non-existent.”
Additionally, The Intercept reported that an episode of “The Daily” podcast about the reporting on sexual violence has been shelved over concerns about fact-checking.
The Times continues to deny that the episode was killed over fact-checking reasons, however, the newspaper has opened an internal investigation to determine how that information was leaked to the Intercept, according to a report from Vanity Fair.
On Thursday, Schwartz thanked the Times for standing by her reporting saying, “ The Times didn’t just stand behind me, but also behind the many women whose stories needed to be told. The recent attacks against me will not deter me from continuing my work.”
Addressing her social media activity, Schwartz said, “I understand why people who do not know me were offended by the inadvertent ‘like’ I pressed on 10/7 and I apologize for that.”
I am thankful to the @nytimes for standing behind the important stories we have published. The Times didn’t just stand behind me, but also behind the many women whose stories needed to be told. The recent attacks against me will not deter me from continuing my work … pic.twitter.com/W7ioPZvCWA
— Anat Schwartz (@Anatschwartz) February 29, 2024
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