The archival initiative demonstrates that early twentieth-century American newspapers once openly described Zionism as a colonial venture rather than using modern framing. Outlets such as The New York Times and the Buffalo Jewish Review regularly ran headlines referring directly to the colonisation of Palestine. Starting in the 1920s, American publications steadily phased out the term colonisation, largely substituting it with settlement by 1948. This historical pivot coincides with modern evaluations, including a 2024 analysis documenting extreme terminology disparities in major press outlets.
Key points
American newspapers historically acknowledged Zionist efforts in Palestine as a colonial…: American newspapers historically acknowledged Zionist efforts in Palestine as a colonial project before altering their terminology.
United Nations Special Rapporteur Francesca Albanese reported that international media fr…: United Nations Special Rapporteur Francesca Albanese reported that international media framing has legitimized violence and impeded accountability.
Modern press coverage continues to exhibit measurable bias through asymmetric terminology…: Modern press coverage continues to exhibit measurable bias through asymmetric terminology and the routine use of the passive voice for Palestinian casualties.
Sources checked by our analysis pipeline: 1
For years, mainstream media has been criticised for its failure to report accurately on Israel’s genocide in Gaza, allowing Israel to commit crimes with impunity.
In July the UN special rapporteur for the Palestinian territories, Fransesca Albanese, released a report about the media complicity in genocide.
Her report details how the systematic targeting of Palestinian journalists, Israeli media’s incitement, and the legitimisation from international coverage have facilitated genocide and obstructed accountability.
Outlets relied heavily on Israeli sources, using the Hamas-led attack on Israel on 7 October 2023 to justify Israel’s subsequent onslaught and present the conflict as though it began exclusively with the attack.
It was frustration with this narrative that prompted Maria Robles, an independent researcher and artist, to begin research into archival American newspaper stories.
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She wanted to “share the reality” of what was happening in Palestine through “public history and public memory - not based on opinion, but aggregating existing materials, existing research, existing…
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