New York Times photograph sets of firestorm because of incorrect context

WASHINGTON

The New York Times has a credibility problem.

On July 24, the country’s newspaper of record published an online story with the headline, “Gazans Are Dying of Starvation,” which focused on impending famine among Gaza’s’ “most vulnerable civilians — the young, the old and the sick.”

But an image from the story that ran on the front page of the Times’ July 25 newspaper, leading the article, is what captured the world’s attention. In the photograph, a Palestinian mother cradles her 18-month old child. His arms appear thin and you can see his spine protruding.

The newspaper’s photo caption read, “Mohammed Zakaria al-Mutawaq, about 18 months, with his mother, Hedaya al-Mutawaq, who said he was born healthy but was recently diagnosed with severe malnutrition. A doctor said the numb