05/08/2025
BILD | Gaza Hamas-Propaganda
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The biggest newspaper in Germany
just exposed what other media outlets are trying to hide: The deliberate staging of Hamas propaganda by photographers in Gaza, that are later sold for tens of thousands of dollars to Western media outlets to create a false narrative to demonise Israel and strengthen Hamas.
The article analyses the case of Anas Zayed Fteiha, a so-called “freelance journalist” who works for the Turkish state news agency Anadolu. On paper, he’s a reporter, but in reality, he’s an Islamic propagandist with a camera. That’s obvious from his social media posts, where he proudly poses in combat gear and shares slogans like “Free Palestine” or even “F*** Israel.” Neutrality? Not a chance.
The article shows that many of his photos deliver exactly what Hamas needs: suffering, rubble, crying children captured in perfect lighting. The kind of imagery that instantly sparks outrage against Israel in the West. But where are the photos that show the full picture? For example, the scenes where adult men collect food that’s actually being distributed? Those images vanish into obscurity. Instead, the “emotional shockers” end up in outlets like stern, CNN, BBC, Deutschlandfunk—and even in BILD itself.
And none of this is a coincidence. The Süddeutsche Zeitung (SZ) confirms what experts have been saying for a long time: 𝗻𝗼 𝗰𝗮𝗺𝗲𝗿𝗮 𝗼𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲𝘀 𝗶𝗻 𝗚𝗮𝘇𝗮 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗛𝗮𝗺𝗮𝘀 𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗿𝗼𝗹 𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝗶𝘁.
Historian Gerhard Paul puts it plainly: in southern Gaza, Hamas controls 100% of visual output. In other words, any photographer who doesn’t produce what the terrorists want is out of a job. That’s why the suffering is always portrayed one-sidedly, it’s designed to provoke sympathy in the West and stir anger at Israel.
Even historical parallels are drawn: back in 2002, Arafat staged himself in his “fortress” in Ramallah as a tragic hero by candlelight cameras on, spotlights off, pure emotion. Minutes later, he was back under bright lights. Same trick, different setting.
The disturbing part? Major news agencies and media outlets play along. They buy these images without questioning who’s behind them. Reuters defends itself by saying, “Our photos meet standards of accuracy and independence”, but it’s clear that in a place where Hamas monitors every pixel, true independence is impossible.
And now the key question: Why don’t we see revelations like this in other media? Why doesn’t ARD produce a report on how tightly Hamas controls imagery coming out of Gaza? Why doesn’t the BBC acknowledge that many of its sources are actually activists? The answer is simple: because this truth is uncomfortable. It would disrupt the cherished victim-aggressor narrative,where Israel is always the oppressor, and Palestinians are always the helpless victims.
The reality is this: Hamas is waging a double war: with rockets and with images. And in the second war, they’ve already won over half the world, because the media uncritically reproduces their perfectly staged visuals. Anyone who doesn’t see that is blindly walking into a propaganda trap.
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Original article: by Moritz J. Müller, Hans-Jörg Vehlewald and Aaron Deuser
