WSJ Overstates Gaza Casualties
Plus, Musk pushes Trump on government spending, regulation
A tweet I put out noting an absurd sentence in a front-page Wall Street Journal news article about a Gaza doctor who died while detained by Israel has racked up 78,000 views in the few hours since I posted it.
But in terms of eyebrow-raising Journal news coverage of Gaza and Israel, it’s not even clear that that’s the most egregious example of the day. Another Journal news headline, over a six-column story, screams, “Israeli Strike Kills Dozens of Gaza Civilians.”
That headline’s not accurate.
The Israel Defense Forces now says “there have been a confirmed 31 terrorists eliminated in the strike on the Hamas stronghold in the Al-Taba’een school, where the terrorists planned to execute attacks against Israel.” And the Israeli foreign ministry says Hamas has revised the number of deaths from the strike downward to 40 from 100.
If 40 people died, and 31 of them were terrorists that Israel has identified with their names, pictures, and positions in the Hamas and Islamic Jihad terrorists organizations, the math doesn’t provide a basis for the Journal headline about “Israeli Strike Kills Dozens of Gaza Civilians.”
There certainly have been civilian casualties in Gaza, and in Israel, during this war. But Hamas, Iran, and their allies have repeatedly been using overstated claims about civilian casualties—claims delivered with impossible precision and speed—as a kind of information warfare against Israel. Journalists would be better off treating such claims skeptically than passing them along to readers unattributed in a way that erodes the news organization’s hard-earned reputation. Politicians, professors, and students read these headlines and draw unjustified conclusions.
The Journal gets some slack because its opinion pages have been terrific, heroic even, on the war. And in fairness, it has early deadlines because it’s a global newspaper. But the broader point isn’t specific to the Journal but more general to the news media. It’s an attack on Israel, sure, but it’s also kind of an attack on the idea that newspapers should tell the truth. It’s hard for a democracy to function correctly if the public can’t get accurate information from the press.
Trump on X: I caught most of President Trump’s appearance with Elon Musk on X. It started off as less of an interview or conversation and more of a Trump campaign infomercial, with Trump going on at extensive length about his key campaign issues—illegal immigration, inflation, “lawfare.” Trump praised Musk’s Tesla cars: “You do make a great product by the way.” Musk praised Trump’s courage under fire in the assassination attack.
Musk did press Trump on government spending, which Musk said is fueling inflation. “Would you agree that we need to take a look at government spending…so that the country lives within its means?” Musk asked, suggesting a “government efficiency commission,” and offering to help. Trump told the story of negotiating down the price of Air Force One from Boeing.
They both praised the new president of Argentina, Javier Milei.
Trump said he wanted to close the federal Department of Education and “move education back to the states.”
Musk said, “I don’t think we should vilify the oil and gas industry.” He also said, though, that the world should move over time, “faster rather than slower,” to forms of energy that pollute less, warning of “headaches” if the carbon dioxide reaches 1000 parts per million.
Trump said he’d get energy flowing from the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.
Musk said that the Tesla Models S, Model E, Model X, and Model Y spell out “sexy.”
Trump suggested solar panels on the roofs of cars.
Musk said nuclear is “underrated” as an energy source.
“We just don’t have a president right now,” Musk said. Trump agreed, then went on to say that Harris would be worse than Biden. “She is a radical-left San Francisco liberal,” he said.
“She is far left, far-far left,” Musk replied.
“She is so anti-Israel,” Trump said.
Musk noted that Harris skipped Netanyahu’s address to Congress.
“I think really it’s essential that you win, for the good of the country,” Musk said.
Trump said the new Time magazine cover of Harris made her look like Melania Trump.
Musk touted big projects, suggesting Trump needed to offer an optimistic future vision: “we could build a base on the moon, we could send American astronauts to Mars.” Musk also talked about using tunnels for high-speed, traffic-free transport between cities.
Musk talked about speeding the FDA’s drug-approval process. “It takes too long,” Trump said.
“There has to be an active process for reducing rules and regulations,” Musk said. “It’s a really big deal.”
Musk predicted hundreds of millions of people would hear the conversation. He said three of his mother’s friends had been assaulted in recent months walking the streets of New York. “The legal system’s supposed to be protecting the public from violent criminals,” Musk said.
Musk said he supported Obama and historically had been a moderate Democrat. “We want to have a future that is prosperous,” Musk said. “America is at a fork in the road. You are the path to prosperity and Kamala is the opposite.”
“You don’t hear about the American dream anymore. You’re going to hear about it,” Trump said, calling Musk “a great inspiration” and the conversation “a lot of fun.”