New York Times directs journalists to limit use of 'genocide', 'Palestine'

The New York Times has directed its journalists reporting on Israel's conflict in the Gaza Strip to limit the use of the term "genocide", according to an internal memo.

The newspaper also instructed reporters not to use the word Palestine "except in very rare cases", news site The Intercept reported citing the memo it obtained.

The memo — written by Times standards editor Susan Wessling, international editor Philip Pan, and their deputies — "offers guidance about some terms and other issues we have grappled with since the start of the conflict in October", according to The Intercept report.

Although presented as a guideline for upholding objective journalistic standards in covering the Gaza conflict, several Times employees told The Intercept that certain parts of the document indicate the newspaper's deference towards Israeli narratives.

A newsroom source quoted by The Intercept said the memo appears "professional and logical" to those without a comprehensive understanding of the historical context of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict.

"But if you do know, it will be clear how apologetic it is to Israel," the source said.

Reporters were initially given the memo in November but it has since been updated.

"Issuing guidance like this to ensure accuracy, consistency and nuance in how we cover the news is standard practice," a New York Times spokesperson was quoted as saying by The Intercept.

"Across all our reporting, including complex events like this, we take care to ensure our language choices are sensitive, current and clear to our audiences."

The document says that the "nature of the conflict" has "led to inflammatory language and incendiary accusations on all sides", adding that The New York Times should be "very cautious about using such language, even in quotations".

"Words like 'slaughter', 'massacre' and 'carnage' often convey more emotion than information. Think hard before using them in our own voice," the guidance reads.

"Can we articulate why we are applying these words to one particular situation and not another?"

Israel's war on Gaza has so far killed more than 33,800 people, according to the enclave's health ministry.

The International Court of Justice in January found Israel was plausibly breaching the UN Genocide Convention in Gaza.
"'Genocide' has a specific definition in international law," the New York Times memo reads.