“Beheaded babies!” “Systematic mass rapes!” “Heads on pikes!” In the hours, days, and weeks after the attack by Hamas, Israeli sources fed such claims to Western mainstream media, claims which were then echoed by high officials, including the U.S. president.

This salon asks critical questions: Have news bureaus been reporting propaganda as facts? Have Israeli and Western politicians been using fictional war atrocities to justify a six-month “War on Gaza?” And what does video footage taken on October 7 reveal about what actually happened on that day? Our panelists will review and discuss three recent video reports that present the evidence and offer critical analysis.