‘Working On It’: Will Accountability Come to Politico Over Hamas Coverage?

Well, my my my, as my favorite TV detective likes to say. Maybe the Hamas Propaganda Amplification System might get dismantled — at least at one major outlet. 

Now that the war has resumed in Gaza, thanks to the refusal of Hamas to release the hostages it never should have taken in the first place, the Protection Racket Media has returned to its old tricks. They use Hamas propaganda as sources and disguise them with labels like “Gaza health ministry” and such. Politco’s report on the renewed military action seems hardly different from the mainstream-media norm:

Israel launched a wave of airstrikes across the Gaza Strip early Tuesday, saying it was striking dozens of Hamas targets in its heaviest assault in the territory since a ceasefire took effect in January. Palestinian officials reported at least 200 deaths.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he ordered the strikes because of a lack of progress in talks to extend the ceasefire. Officials said the operation was open-ended and was expected to expand. The White House said it had been consulted and voiced support for Israel’s actions. …

The surprise attack shattered a period of relative calm during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan and raised the prospect of a full return to fighting in a 17-month war that has killed tens of thousands of Palestinians and caused widespread destruction across Gaza. It also raised questions about the fate of the roughly two dozen Israeli hostages held by Hamas who are believed to still be alive.

Tendentious? Yes, but not especially so in the context of most coverage from mainstream US outlets. It uses ‘Palestinian officials’ without mentioning that they are all Hamas, called it a “surprise attack” when both Israeli and American officials had warned for weeks that patience and time were running out, and for some reason cites Ramadan in a war that Hamas deliberately timed its initial atrocities on the Jewish holiday of Simchat Torah. The talks weren’t about extending the cease-fire either, but intended to press Hamas to give up kidnapped hostages that Hamas has held illegally for 18 months.

Other than that, and even with that, it sounds pretty much de rigueur for the mainstream media. But that didn’t mollify one reader, who actually has some significant authority to ensure that changes are made (via Twitchy):

I am on the board of Axel Springer that owns Político. I consider this article one sided Hamas support. It fails to mention that the airstrikes were aimed at eliminating top Hamas military and thar Israel was successful at doing so. It also quotes casualty figures given by Hamas… https://t.co/TDWcfCaHYQ

— Martin Varsavsky (@martinvars) March 18, 2025

Israel has reported — and Hamas appears to have confirmed — that at least four senior officials have been killed in the strikes. The Politico report also overlooks Israeli claims that Hamas had used the cease-fire to reorganize its materiel and manpower for another offensive:

The Israeli security cabinet convened an emergency meeting on Monday to discuss a culmination of alerts over the past few weeks that indicate that Hamas has been making preparations for another invasion into Israeli territory, N12 reported.

Separately, Defense Minister Israel Katz reiterated these concerns in a meeting with the Otef Israel Forum, a group primarily composed of residents from the Gaza border region, on Tuesday morning,  …

According to the report, security forces have identified a sharp increase in Hamas’s efforts to carry out attacks against the IDF in Gaza, potentially indicating a desire to prepare for an incursion into Israel.

Even before the start of this new offensive, the IDF had begun striking specific positions in Gaza where they saw Hamas prepping new offensive operations. Those reports went largely unnoticed in American media, but they signaled that the Israelis saw some threat forming on the border again. (Reportedly, some of that intel came from recently released hostages as well, but that sourcing remains rather murky.)

Let’s get back to Varsavsky and his response. When challenged on whether he would put his talk into action, Varsavsky replied:

working on it

— Martin Varsavsky (@martinvars) March 18, 2025

What can Varsavsky do about it? Well, that depends on his influence at Axel Springer, a German publishing giant that also produces the tabloid Bild, among other properties. Axel Springer paid over $1 billion for Politico in late 2021, back when Politico Pro still sucked in lots of taxpayer funds before DOGE canceled all federal-agency subscriptions. 

Needless to say, Axel Springer may already worry about its billion-dollar investment in this enterprise, especially now that the bureaucratic-subsidy gravy train has come to an end. And Politico may already have plenty of reasons to worry about potential Axel Springer intervention in its operations just on that basis alone. If their biased and tendentious coverage of Hamas’ war has begun to enrage Axel Springer board members, then that might trigger an even more significant intervention. 

Perhaps nothing will actually change. But at least the problem has become apparent at the right levels. Axel Springer will have no excuse for inaction now.