DW insiders accuse outlet of pro-Israel bias, Islamophobia in Gaza coverage

Senior figures in the newsroom at Germany's international broadcaster, Deutsche Welle, are fostering a climate of fear for journalists covering Israel's war on Gaza, according to a report.

Al Jazeera said 13 staffers, freelancers and a former long-term correspondent have exposed the network.

They accuse Deutsche Welle of having a pro-Israel and anti-Palestinian bias.

They claim to have overheard colleagues making Islamophobic and dehumanising remarks about Palestinians and protesters in the Berlin office, without facing consequences.

Additionally, they disclosed several internal documents to Al Jazeera.

One of the documents includes a list of "possible comebacks" for anchors to use during live interviews with "pro-Palestinian voices" who make "controversial statements," such as accusing Israel of war crimes.

Other documents include a separate style guide specifically for covering Israel and Palestinian territories.

The guide instructs staff to use "West Bank or Gaza, or the Palestinian territories" instead of Palestine, as it has not yet achieved "statehood".

A handout from an antisemitism awareness training event indicates that “hatred towards Jews is often expressed through terms like 'Zionists' or 'Israelis,' therefore, criticising Israel can also be considered a form of anti-Semitism related to Israel.”

Atmosphere of fear and scrutiny

Marting Gak spent 10 years at Deutsche Welle as a religious affairs correspondent and senior producer for Conflict Zone, a political interview show that often addresses Israel's war on Gaza.

"The sense of pressure was constant," Gak, who has since left the network, told Al Jazeera.

"There is a constant sense of fear with (senior staff) looking at the things you were writing with enormous care, almost paranoia," he added.

"From a journalistic point of view, Deutsche Welle fills its mouth with grand concepts like freedom of the press, freedom of expression, freedom of conscience. And it’s clear that this is just being used as a mouthwash," said Gak.

Another employee said he was preparing a report and in the footage, a 10-year-old child was crying and saying: "The bombs fell and my father and I had to carry my uncle’s body and half his head was exploded."

The employee wanted to discuss the ethics of using traumatic footage of children.

"It did create debate in the newsroom that we had in the end. I kept it in, but this particular (executive) produced his argument:

‘How do we know if this kid is acting?'"

For most people in the Berlin newsroom, however, it was clear that the child was not acting, the employee said.