NAIROBI—A Nairobi-based radio station has come under intense criticism for an article published on its website on Saturday.
Titled “Opinion: Why Hamas attacks on Israel must be condemned“, Kenyans questioned why, if at all it’s an opinion article, they omitted the name and title of the author. Capital FM only referred to the author as “Contributor.” Unlike a previous article published a day earlier on “Why Xi’s Meeting With Ruto Is A Blueprint For Africa-China Relations“, Capital FM this this time did not name the author, a move that caused suspicion among it’s followers online.
“The most ignorant piece of article published by a Kenyan media on Gaza. Looks like a sponsored article authored by Israeli authorities. A shame! Hamas is a resistance movement fighting for the freedom of Palestinians from the brutal Israeli occupation,” Billow Kerrow, former senator and a regular analyst on media, said in a Twitter post.
The article did not include the suffering of the Palestinians, only repeatedly mentioning the casualties on the Israeli side.
“Hamas and other extremists affiliated militants of Gaza murdered over 1,400 Israelis and wounded more than 4,500,” the opinion piece, which many readers said is an editorial disguised as “opinion” by the radio station, said in part.
So far, at least 4,385 Palestinians have been killed in Israeli strikes on Gaza since Hamas’s October 7 attack inside Israel, which killed more than 1,400 people.
In the same paragraph, it said: “Many babies were found beheaded” a claim that was initially made by the Israeli Defence Forces (IDF), but later debunked by independent orgernisations and the media as fake.
Last week, the White House has walked back President Joe Biden’s claim that he saw pictures of beheaded children following Hamas’ deadly attack on Israel.
Capital FM did not immediately respond to a Kulan Post request for further details about whether the article was “an opinion piece or an editorial.”
Here’s reaction by Kenyans to the article by Capital FM.
