Ofer Kalderon embraces his partner, Ramat Gan, Israel, February 1, 2025. Photo: Maayan Toaf/GPO/Handout via REUTERS

Over the weekend, as Israeli hostages held by Hamas were again released in exchange for Palestinian prisoners, it became clear that media outlets are unable to stop the use of misleading terminology that creates a moral inversion between victims and perpetrators.

The misleading terms were sloppy, at best, or biased, at worst, mixing “hostages” with “prisoners” and “soldiers” with civilians.

NBC News, for example, led with a headline calling Palestinian prisoners “hostages.” After being alerted by HonestReporting, they swiftly corrected it to “prisoners,” but the fact remains that an editor there was either confused or agenda-driven:

“Palestinian hostages.”

Seriously, @NBCNews?!

They were imprisoned by Israel for terrorism. The only hostages are the Israelis and others kidnapped and held captive in Gaza by Palestinian terrorist orgs. pic.twitter.com/561mfmOIxs

— HonestReporting (@HonestReporting) February 1, 2025

And the word “soldier” messed up the coverage of The New York Times and Sky News, which couldn’t get their facts straight.

The New York Times called Israeli civilian Arbel Yehoud, who was released on Thursday by Islamic Jihad, an “Israeli soldier.”

She was not; she was a civilian kidnapped from her home.

And Sky News, while mentioning the first round of the deal, called Israeli civilians Emily Damari, Romi Gonen, and Doron Steinbrecher “soldiers.”

No, @nytimes, Arbel Yehoud is not an Israeli soldier, she is a civilian and was kidnapped from her home in Nir Oz.

Please correct the error and stop portraying Israelis as legitimate military targets for terrorists. pic.twitter.com/o754wAEu4M

— HonestReporting (@HonestReporting) January 30, 2025

No, @SkyNews, Emily Damari and the two other Israelis released with her were civilians, not soldiers. Get your facts straight. Do better. pic.twitter.com/bbOtWG9K9v

— HonestReporting (@HonestReporting) February 2, 2025

Meanwhile, the BBC had to apologize for calling three Israeli hostages Yarden Bibas, Keith Seigel, and Ofer Calderon “prisoners.”

But the UK network had no qualms about using footage of terrified Arbel Yehoud by none other than Hassan Eslaiah —  a Gaza photojournalist who was fired from CNN and AP after HonestReporting exposed his ties to Hamas.

(Not only was Eslaiah spotted using his access to get closeups of the hostages but he was also later photographed with UN staff.)

Whose footage did @BBCNews & others use from the heart of the appalling crowd scenes when Hamas released Israeli hostage Arbel Yehoud?

Which Gazan photojournalist has that sort of access?

Hint: It’s not the first time he’s cozied up to terrorists to get the shots.

Find out 👇 pic.twitter.com/yYBQ6XPeSn

— HonestReporting (@HonestReporting) January 30, 2025

To be clear, misleading terminology has an apologetic effect — captive soldiers or prisoners are not the same as hostage civilians, and the same goes for misleading terminology on the Palestinian side.

For example, Sky News described Palestinian mass murderer Zakaria Zubeidi as a “freed Palestinian prisoner”:

Zakaria Zubeidi led the Al-Aqsa Martyrs’ Brigades, orchestrated deadly attacks, and escaped prison in 2021—yet @SkyNews calls him a “freed prisoner.” Whitewashing terror isn’t journalism. pic.twitter.com/YE262CLVqQ

— HonestReporting (@HonestReporting) February 1, 2025

The aim of this misleading terminology, conscious or not, is a moral inversion — because if the hostages are prisoners or soldiers and the perpetrators are family guys celebrating their freedom, it’s clear who’s right and who’s wrong.

Media outlets should be more careful with their choice of words because it creates the very reality they report on.

The author is a contributor to HonestReporting, a Jerusalem-based media watchdog with a focus on antisemitism and anti-Israel bias — where a version of this article first appeared.