Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX) has taken aim at mainstream media outlets for what he perceives as their support of Hamas propaganda during the coverage of Israel’s conflict with the terrorist group responsible for the attacks on October 7. Cruz voiced his concerns on his “Verdict” podcast, following two reports from Newsbusters that cited ABC, CBS, NBC, and MSNBC for allegedly promoting a known crisis actor.
Cruz outlined two possible scenarios regarding the mainstream media’s actions. He said, “Either CBS, ABC, and NBC knew who he was. In which case they’re deliberately lying to the American people and saying let’s take a Hamas propagandist and put it on the global stage. If they knew, the producer put this segment together should be fired. Or the alternative is they didn’t know.”
He continued by suggesting that if the networks were unaware of the actor’s identity, it could indicate a pre-existing political narrative they wished to propagate. He added, “If they didn’t know, it means they had a political narrative they wanted to tell. They had a political agenda, and it was too good to check. They got a video that fit their political agenda, let’s put it on the news. And you know what, if they didn’t know it means they’re biased and incompetent. They ought to be fired anyway.”
Cruz insisted that repercussions should follow for any party involved in the spread of pro-Hamas propaganda, accusing them of “lying on behalf of terrorists.” He further challenged CBS, stating, “CBS, if there’s one principled journalist at all of CBS, do a story on who this guy is, and how CBS was complicit in spreading his lies. That won’t be easy, it will make it will be very uncomfortable because it will make you look like crap.”
This criticism comes amidst an ongoing debate about media bias and the role of journalism in reporting on international conflicts. As the situation continues to unfold, the role of the media and its reporting practices remain under scrutiny.
