German Press Council reprimands “Bild” over coverage of Anas al-Sharif’s killing

The German Press Council has formally reprimanded the newspaper Bild for its coverage of the death of Palestinian journalist Anas al-Sharif, Al Jazeera’s correspondent in Gaza, calling the report a serious breach of journalistic ethics and a disregard for accuracy.

The decision came after 328 collective complaints against an article published in August under the headline “Terrorist disguised as journalist killed in Gaza.” The piece echoed the Israeli army’s claim that al-Sharif was leading a Hamas cell. The editorial team failed to provide sufficient evidence for this narrative and later changed the headline.

The Press Council’s complaints committee unanimously ruled that the coverage represented a flagrant violation of journalistic ethics (Article 2 of the Press Code) and a severe affront to the journalist’s personal dignity (Article 9 of the same code).

Sources - Agencies