The 102-page report by the Network Contagion Research Institute (NCRI) cited by Fox News, titled, “The 4th Estate Sale: How American and European Media Became an Uncritical Mouthpiece for a Designated Foreign Terror Organization,” alleges that prominent news organizations including CNN, MSNBC, Reuters, and The Washington Post published or promoted false claims originating from the Gaza Health Ministry without noting that the ministry is run by US-designated terrorist organization Hamas.
"Let’s be clear: media outlets in the United States, the UK, and continental Europe are literally doing the work of terrorists,” Rev. Johnnie Moore, president of the US-based Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), which has delivered over 70 million meals to civilians since May 2024, told reporters. “They have become the default press secretaries for designated terrorist organizations.”
According to the study, unverified reports falsely blamed GHF for civilian deaths in Gaza and directly fed conspiracy theories online and across international media platforms, often without correction. CNN posted on June 1, 2025, “At least 31 Palestinians were killed amid chaotic scenes near an aid site run by a US-backed private foundation in Gaza, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health.”
According to the NCRI, this post, which had almost 500,000 views, failed to disclose the source’s affiliation with Hamas and presented no independent verification. CNN later added Israel's denial to the full story, but the viral post remained unchanged. NCRI researchers wrote, “This illustrates the speed at which misleading narratives can spread, and the slow, often inadequate pace of correction.”
A senior NCRI researcher, who requested anonymity due to security concerns, told Fox News, “What we found is not just bias, it’s the laundering of information warfare.”
According to NCRI, every time GHF marked an operational milestone, whether opening a new distribution site or reaching a meal delivery threshold, there was a corresponding spike in antisemitic and conspiratorial online content, including false accusations that GHF was distributing drug-laced food. These disinformation surges suggest a deliberate campaign to discredit the organization.
Moore argued that GHF’s secure and independent delivery system threatened Hamas’s grip on Gaza’s aid economy, which netted the group over $1 billion last year through manipulation, diversion, and resale of international aid. “They take free food, then sell it. They hoard it for their fighters. They use it to recruit,” Moore explained. “So when we came in and disrupted that pipeline, Hamas saw us as a threat to their business model and their control.”
A US State Department spokesperson, speaking on background, defended GHF’s model, saying, “A track record of distributing over 68 million meals to date, all while preventing Hamas looting is absolutely incredible and should be commended and supported.” They criticized UN and NGO systems that often allow Hamas to seize aid under the label of “self-distribution,” adding, “Perhaps they should support the only system that is working instead of criticizing from the sidelines.”
The NCRI report identifies multiple instances where media outlets allegedly failed to apply due diligence, including MSNBC airing a report on Morning Joe citing the Gaza Health Ministry’s claims without clarifying its ties to Hamas. The segment remains online with a “clarification” but not a formal correction.
In another example, the Washington Post posted on June 1, “At least 30 people were killed in northern Gaza while waiting for food aid trucks to arrive, the Gaza Health Ministry said.” The X post did not mention Hamas or provide any context. It reached 2.4 million views in under 24 hours and was cited by foreign officials calling for sanctions against GHF. The post was later deleted, and the outlet issued a correction.
The IDF told Fox News that GHF operates independently within their humanitarian zones, and that recent incidents involving civilian harm have led to new safety protocols, including additional fencing, signage, and access controls.
“Following incidents in which harm to civilians who arrived at distribution facilities was reported, thorough examinations were conducted,” said an IDF spokesperson.
The report concludes by stating, “When a terrorist-linked health ministry makes a claim, and that claim becomes the basis for international headlines without independent verification or source transparency, that is not journalism. That is narrative laundering, and it puts real people at risk.”
It has previously been revealed that photographers working with the Associated Press, Reuters, CNN, and the New York Times were embedded with Hamas as the terrorists massacred Israeli civilians on October 7, 2023.
