For his main topic on Sunday’s Last Week Tonight, HBO’s John Oliver relentlessly attacked UnitedHealthcare. Naturally, Oliver could not do so without talking about Luigi Mangione assassinating former CEO Brian Thompson, but Oliver also made sure that it is clear that he believes Mangione “is hot.”Oliver teed up a trio of clips of Mangione supporters by declaring, “As you undoubtedly know, almost two years ago, its then-CEO Brian Thompson was shot in midtown Manhattan while going to an investor conference. And that killing was, noticeably, not exactly met with universal sympathy. In fact, in some quarters, there was even support for Luigi Mangione, the suspect who's since admitted to the shooting.”One Instagrammer was shown calling Mangione an “Ivy League hottie” and “is the Robin Hood that we never knew that we needed.” A TikTokker claimed, “This is like a regular, everyday person becoming our hero, our vigilante.” Finally, a grown man in a Luigi costume simply declared, “Universal health care now or free Luigi.” John Oliver's main topic on Sunday was UnitedHealthcare, "As you undoubtedly know, almost two years ago, its then-CEO Brian Thompson, was shot in midtown Manhattan while going to an investor conference. And that killing was, noticeably, not exactly met with universal sympathy. In… pic.twitter.com/rqu7HRQtsq— Alex Christy (@alexchristy17) September 22, 2026 Oliver has not done highlighting Mangione fans, “But that was just the beginning. A sign depicting Luigi as a saint was projected on a New York building like his album was about to drop. And supporters showed up at his arraignment dressed in shirts that said things like ‘I love Italian boys’ and ‘Cougars for Luigi.’He then tried to claim Mangione’s status as a sex symbol is rooted in objective reality, “And, look, let's just get this straight out of the way: Luigi is hot. There's no way around that. In fact, he's so hot, they even had to acknowledge it on the news.”In another clip, former Biden coms official-turned CNN talking head Kate Bedingfield declared, “So much of, you know, the clips we were watching at the top of this segment are driven by the fact that this is—this is an attractive person.”Anchor Kasie Hunt interrupted to cue the control room to drop the chyron as one of Mangione’s Facebook photos was displayed on the screen, “You know, we've got to drop the banner to show why.”Bedingfield continued, “And it is deeply troubling that we are celebrating this person who's committed cold-blooded murder because, you know, he clearly went to the gym.”Oliver did not mention Hunt by name but referenced her in his reaction, “Yeah, someone on that panel said, ‘Drop the banner,’ so viewers could understand the full extent of Luigi's attractiveness. Cheeky pecs peeking out is insufficient. We are the fourth estate, and we will show all four rows of abs.As he prepared to launch into his wider denunciation of UnitedHealthcare, Oliver continued, “But it's not ‘just’ that Luigi was handsome. One reason many found it hard to completely condemn the murder is that so many Americans are furious with UnitedHealthcare. In fact, shortly after the shooting, when a poll asked, ‘How much responsibility do you think each of the following had for the killing?’ 78 percent said the killer held some responsibility, which, of course. But 69 percent also blamed ‘Denials for health care coverage by health insurance companies.’”Oliver is not the first late night comedian to try to turn Mangione into a sex symbol, but, unlike Taylor Tomlinson, he is someone that liberals in and outside of the media portray as an ideal combination of comedian and journalist. However, there is no journalistic or comedic value in turning a killer into a sex symbol.Here is a transcript for the September 20 show:HBO Last Week Tonight with John Oliver9/21/202611:04 PM ETJOHN OLIVER: As you undoubtedly know, almost two years ago, its then-CEO Brian Thompson was shot in midtown Manhattan while going to an investor conference. And that killing was, noticeably, not exactly met with universal sympathy. In fact, in some quarters, there was even support for Luigi Mangione, the suspect who's since admitted to the shooting.MARORITZ [INSTAGRAM]: This Ivy League hottie named Luigi is the Robin Hood that we never knew that we needed.FINE_TEN [TIKTOK]: This is like a regular, everyday person becoming our hero, our vigilante.ETHAN MERRIL: Universal health care now or free Luigi.OLIVER: Yeah, Luigi had a lot of fans, many of whom—like that guy—supported him by wearing green hats. Which must be so weird for Nintendo. This guy's been Mario's sidekick for decades without controversy. It'd be like finding out every Mario Kart game had O.J. Simpson as a playable character.But that was just the beginning. A sign depicting Luigi as a saint was projected on a New York building like his album was about to drop. And supporters showed up at his arraignment dressed in shirts that said things like "I love Italian boys" and "Cougars for Luigi." And, look, let's just get this straight out of the way: Luigi is hot. There's no way around that. In fact, he's so hot, they even had to acknowledge it on the news.KATE BEDINGFIELD: So much of, you know, the clips we were watching at the top of this segment are driven by the fact that this is—this is an attractive person.KASIE HUNT: You know, we've got to drop the banner to show why.BEDINGFIELD: And it is deeply troubling that we are celebrating this person who's committed cold-blooded murder because, you know, he clearly went to the gym.OLIVER: Yeah, someone on that panel said, "Drop the banner," so viewers could understand the full extent of Luigi's attractiveness. Cheeky pecs peeking out is insufficient. We are the fourth estate, and we will show all four rows of abs. But it's not "just" that Luigi was handsome. One reason many found it hard to completely condemn the murder is that so many Americans are furious with UnitedHealthcare. In fact, shortly after the shooting, when a poll asked, "How much responsibility do you think each of the following had for the killing?" 78 percent said the killer held some responsibility, which, of course. But 69 percent also blamed "Denials for health care coverage by health insurance companies."

During yesterday’s CBS News Sunday Morning, national correspondent Robert Costa, sat down with Governor Andy Beshear (D-KY) ahead of the November midterms. The segment was essentially meant to introduce Beshear as a potential 2028 candidate and show off his brand of campaigning in a red state as a possible road map for Democrats nationally.Calling out the differences between himself and Vice President J.D. Vance, one of the predicted GOP candidates, Beshear was quick to ensure the roots of his faith are the guiding light in his political ideology, and his belief that Democrats should engage more with people of faith.  The segment opened with Beshear depicted as an every-man, shaking hands and drinking bourbon with fellow members of the Kentucky Distillers` Association meeting in Louisville, Kentucky. At the podium, Beshear decried Trump’s tariffs on Canada, with, “bourbon down 85 percent in that country,” while he is, “not blaming Canadians, but this president`s insulted them.”This eventually led to Costa’s conversation with Beshear, where he created a facade of not considering running. Rather, he focused on how his Christian faith was what gave him a leg up from his counterparts, and is the guiding force on how he makes decisions in his campaign journey. Specifically when it came to the Trump Administration and food assistance (Click “expand”): COSTA: Kentucky bourbon might not be the typical fuel for presidential ambition, but the fight has thrust Beshear into the 2028 conversation. His new memoir, quotes Jesus, who said people should follow in the footsteps of the Good Samaritan, to "go and do likewise."Should Democrats be doing more, not only here in Kentucky, but nationally to engage with people of faith.BESHEAR: I mean, think about the lessons the Bible teaches. The miracle of the fishes and loaves is one of the only miracles in the first four books of the New Testament. In a place of scarcity, Jesus makes sure that everybody has enough. Democrats are fighting to make sure there is food assistance for all of America`s children, that kids don`t go to school hungry, that seniors don`t go to bed hungry. And look at what Donald Trump tried to do: He tried to cut SNAP benefits during a shutdown for the first time in history, to use starving Americans as leverage. That`s not Christian. It`s not the right thing to do.Teed up by Costa to help guide how Democrats should speak to voters, Beshear added that Democrats must speak differently when it comes to the struggles of the American people (Click “expand”):COSTA: You say Democrats have to do a better job of speaking, as you put it, "normal."BESHEAR: Yes.COSTA: What does that mean?BESHEAR: We`ve got to sound like normal human beings. I -- I think that it`s -- it was advocacy-speak that -- that was meant for the right things, right? It was meant to reduce stigma, but I don`t -- I don`t think you reduce stigma by changing words. You reduce stigma by -- by changing hearts. You -- you think about the term "food insecurity" -COSTA: You don`t like that.BESHEAR: No, because it doesn`t convey what that person is going through. It doesn`t convey your compassion for trying to make sure everyone has enough to eat, like the word hunger does.Costa even made the appeal for Democrats to listen to Beshear given his competitive electoral record. “Trump has won big in deep-red Kentucky, but Beshear points to his record -- one term as attorney general and two as governor -- as proof that Democrats can win in the South,” he noted.In continuation of his narrative of a devout, Christian Democrat in the South, Beshear compared himself to former President Bill Clinton, who previously won over Kentucky in both of his Presidential elections. Beshear rained praise on Clinton, who he saw, “as someone who was good at being president,” and connected both of their experiences to, “bringing in that outsider`s perspective of having been a governor.” CBS via SnapStream Although Beshear lets his faith command his political argument and Costa framed him as the one to potentially chart the course forward, knowing all that we do, was it really wise to compare your himself to this President who was impeached?Costa allowed Beshear to attempt to defuse on of the possible campaign points against himself. Beshear goes went on to recount his family’s lineage in politics and poked fun at the received nepo baby comments due to his father's past as governor, in which he, "did more free legal work for that man than anybody in my lifetime.”Setting the stage for a showdown over faith, Costa teed up Beshear to bash J.D. Vance for his (Click “expand”):COSTA: But he`s already on the offense against one potential GOP candidate.And you`ve been taking on Vice President J.D. Vance publicly. He`s out there just like you talking about faith, writing a book, but stark differences it seems between you and him.BESHEAR: Well, I try to use faith to lift people up. I see J.D. Vance using it to kick them while they`re down. I see the arrogance, which he goes about his job and his life using faith to -- to judge people, to demean people. Engaging in the poverty tourism that his book "Hillbilly Elegy" was, judging our people and claiming the people of Appalachia are -- are lazy and that -- and that addiction is their fault, when opioid companies sent hundreds of pills into counties for every man, woman and child that lives there.Using his memoir, Go and Do Likewise: How We Heal a Broken Country, as leverage against Vance’s own, Beshear solidified his future in the Presidential run by undermining the potential GOP candidate’s personal experience with Kentucky. While he harped on the importance of living as a Christian, he failed to mention what else Christians were focused on during this political climate– especially abortion laws. This whole segment was essentially to show off Beshear. Costa made that clear when he touted: "Earlier this spring, Andy Beshear appeared at South Carolina congressman Jim Clyburn's fish fry, a famous proving ground for presidential hopefuls. (...) Where he looked every bit ready to throw his hat into the ring."CBS wanted to give the impression that Beshear was first and foremost a Christian ready to meet and compete with Republicans for that demographic. But as usual, it was as empty as secularism.The transcript is below. Click "expand" to read:CBS News Sunday MorningSeptember 20, 202610:20:19 a.m. EasternJANE PAULEY: Midterm elections are less than two months off. But some political watchers are already turning their attention to the race for the White House in 2028. This morning, Robert Costa sits down with a potential Democratic hopeful, Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear.[Cuts to video]ROBERT COSTA: In Kentucky, they take bluegrass and brown liquor, bourbon to be precise, quite seriously.WOMAN #1: Perfect, all right.COSTA: But this past week, at the Kentucky Distillers` Association meeting in Louisville, high spirits were undermined by frustration with President Trump`s tariff policies and war of words with Canada.GOV. ANDY BESHEAR (D-KY): But I continue to push the current administration to pull back these destructive tariffs.Congratulations.WOMAN #2: Thank you. Nice to meet you.COSTA: Kentucky`s Democratic Governor Andy Beshear, just a few months shy of his 49th birthday, was there, shaking hands and looking to shake up Washington.BESHEAR: The fight with Canada, even before tariffs, has bourbon down 85 percent in that country. And listen, I`m not blaming Canadians, but this president`s insulted them.Democrats are going to do well this November.COSTA: Kentucky bourbon might not be the typical fuel for presidential ambition, but the fight has thrust Andy Beshear into the 2028 conversation. His new memoir quotes Jesus, who said people should follow in the footsteps of the Good Samaritan, "go and do likewise."Should Democrats be doing more, not only here in Kentucky, but nationally to engage with people of faith.BESHEAR: Oh, I think so. I mean, think about the lessons the Bible teaches. The miracle of the fishes and loaves is one of the only miracles in the first four books of the New Testament. In a place of scarcity, Jesus makes sure that everybody has enough. Democrats are fighting to make sure there is food assistance for all of America`s children, that kids don`t go to school hungry, that seniors don`t go to bed hungry. And look at what Donald Trump tried to do: He tried to cut SNAP benefits during a shutdown for the first time in history, to use starving Americans as leverage. That`s not Christian. It`s not the right thing to do.COSTA: You say Democrats have to do a better job of speaking, as you put it, "normal."BESHEAR: Yes.COSTA: What does that mean?BESHEAR: We`ve got to sound like normal human beings. I -- I think that it`s -- it was advocacy-speak that -- that was meant for the right things, right? It was meant to reduce stigma, but I don`t -- I don`t think you reduce stigma by changing words. You reduce stigma by -- by changing hearts. You -- you think about the term "food insecurity" --COSTA: You don`t like that.BESHEAR: No, because it doesn`t convey what that person is going through. It doesn`t convey your compassion for trying to make sure everyone has enough to eat, like the word hunger does.COSTA: Trump has won big in deep-red Kentucky, but Beshear points to his record -- one term as attorney general and two as governor -- as proof Democrats can win in the South.[Clip from November 7, 2023]BESHEAR: Tonight, Kentucky made a choice. A choice not to move to the right or the left, but to move forward for every single family.COSTA: And the past success of Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton could provide a playbook.BESHEAR: But you look at Bill Clinton as someone who was good at being president, I think the last president to run a surplus, and I think part of that was bringing in that outsider`s perspective of having been a governor, where you have to run a balanced budget every single year, or you`ve got to start cutting mid-year.COSTA: Beshear may claim the mantle of outsider, but his father, Steve, once served as governor as well.BESHEAR: Yes, sometimes people try to do the "nepo baby" deal with my dad being governor, and they look at me and they say, "How old were you when your dad was elected governor?" And I look at them and say, "Thirty." As a lawyer, I did more free legal work for that man than anybody in my lifetime. He has still yet to repay me.COSTA: Beshear is now chair of the Democratic Governors` Association, and tells us he`ll wait until the midterms, and after consulting with his wife and two children, to decide about 2028.VICE PRESIDENT J.D. VANCE: Hello, Dallas!COSTA: But he`s already on the offense against one potential GOP candidate.And you`ve been taking on Vice President J.D. Vance publicly. He`s out there just like you talking about faith, writing a book, but stark differences it seems between you and him.BESHEAR: Well, I try to use faith to lift people up. I see J.D. Vance using it to kick them while they`re down. I see the arrogance, which he goes about his job and his life using faith to -- to judge people, to demean people. Engaging in the poverty tourism that his book "Hillbilly Elegy" was, judging our people and claiming the people of Appalachia are -- are lazy and that -- and that addiction is their fault, when opioid companies sent hundreds of pills into counties for every man, woman and child that lives there.COSTA: Poverty tourism, tough words.BESHEAR: But -- but true.COSTA: Earlier this spring, Andy Beshear appeared at South Carolina Congressman Jim Clyburn`s fish fry, a famous proving ground for presidential hopefuls.BESHEAR: Thank you all very much. Let`s go get big wins in November. Thank you.COSTA: Where he looked every bit ready to throw his hat into the ring.You call it in the book, "The Great American Reset." And when I read that, Governor, I wondered, is that really possible?BESHEAR: We`ve lived through a civil war. We`ve lived through McCarthyism, which by the way, Donald Trump is engaging in right now. Yes, we can get beyond this. It`s -- it`s the idea that your neighbor isn`t the enemy from within; it`s just your neighbor, and he or she is doing their best in a very difficult world. Shouldn`t we show them more kindness and less judgment? Our communion table is open to everybody.

The Elite Media continue to find ways to make themselves the story. This is particularly true after CNN, Politico, and MS NOW found themselves without access to The White House. With no official pool footage available due to the other networks refusing to pick up the slack for CNN, CBS found a way to perform the media ban for its viewers.Watch as Ed O’Keefe does his usual White House roundup from CBS’s New York studio: WATCH: In solidarity with the CNN, the @CBSEveningNews refuses to air non-pool footage of President Trump- Ed O'Keefe did his White House report in-studio.TONY DOKOUPIL: President Trump is in New York City today meeting with the mayor and preparing for the U.N. General Assembly… pic.twitter.com/36MaFFjTA9— Jorge Bonilla (@BonillaJL) September 22, 2026 CBS EVENING NEWS9/21/266:34 PMTONY DOKOUPIL: President Trump is in New York City today meeting with the mayor and preparing for the U.N. General Assembly tomorrow. But he is also in the middle of a fight, making it difficult to cover any of that as business as usual our Ed O'Keefe is here tonight with more and Ed, you’re at the table on this trip, because we don't have a lot of pictures of the trip to show the good people. Can you tell us why?ED O’KEEFE: That's right, Tony. Well, look. There's a five-network consortium including CBS that pools footage including all presidential movements and events. When The White House denied CNN its ability to serve as pooler today, the other networks refused to step in. So when he revealed the new helipad at The White House today, something he frequently boasts about, there was no network TV coverage. And the same for his trip up here to New York. He appeared briefly in front of local New York TV cameras after his meeting with the mayor this afternoon. All of this is unprecedented, but so was the president's move Friday to ban CNN, MS NOW, and Politico from working on White House grounds simply because he objected to what he called their negative coverage. Those outlets filed suit this morning, calling for their access to be restored, and a judge could rule as soon as Wednesday.DOKOUPIL: And Ed, the president this weekend gave an update on the arch that he’s going to build near Arlington cemetery. You’ve asked him about this in the past. O’KEEFE: That’s right. He likes to talk-DOKOUPIL: What do we know?O’KEEFE: The Arc de Trump, as some call it, he is now saying it will be a top-grade military complex and critical for national security because it would also house a large number of drones, snipers on the roof, and store sniper ammunition. Remember, this is slated to be 260 feet tall and on the flight path to nearby Reagan National Airport, the FAA signed off before Trump released these details saying it would not be a hazard. But a Virginia Democratic congressman said having a drone launching site in the landing path is a dangerous, unworkable idea. Construction of the arch is supposed to start this month but, Tony, it still faces legal challenges.DOKOUPIL: Ed, thank you very much. Good to have you at the table. Appreciate it.The entire segment was performed from within the studio, with no footage or B-roll coming from The White House. Of course, there was footage available. Real America’s Voice (RAV) had the secondary pool duty, so there was footage available. CBS just chose not to air it.ABC and NBC took different approaches to avoiding having to show RAV’s footage. ABC used video from President Trump’s Gracie Mansion meeting with New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani: WATCH: @ABCWorldNews showed no White House footage during its media ban roundup, going instead with video from President Trump's visit to Gracie Mansion pic.twitter.com/aw9kGTeTut— Jorge Bonilla (@BonillaJL) September 22, 2026 NBC took a different approach for Kelly O’Donnell’s report: showing Newsmax footage but only to showcase its lack of sound: WATCH: @NBCNightlyNews airs non-pool footage only to showcase its glitchiness pic.twitter.com/qFrkRbRarP— Jorge Bonilla (@BonillaJL) September 22, 2026 Each of the three Elite Media network newscasts took a different approach to performing solidarity with CNN. Will this solidarity last? It isn’t clear. A prolonged self-imposed lockout will further erode these networks’ claims to gatekeeper status. As for CBS, the so-called ‘MAGA-aligned’ network, its performance was the most dramatic. Will the Media Hall Monitors now favorably look upon the Bari Weiss-run newscast? Don't count on it.

You've probably never heard of Gaza photojournalist Motaz Azaiza, a Nobel Peace Prize nominee, and are unaware of an interview he gave earlier this month, where he criticized the Gaza media and Hamas, and at the same time, admitted not publishing photos showing Israeli captives being beaten in Gaza.  Aside from The Jerusalem Post and MEMRI's coverage, you'd be hard pressed to find it anywhere else, certainly not prominently in our liberal media. Azaiza gave the interview to Ahmed Biqui on the podcast Taqarrab, Azaiza.According to the Post, "Azaiza said he filmed Israeli hostages being beaten by a Gazan mob on October 7 2023, but chose not to publish the footage because he feared it could put the Palestinians involved at risk. “I saw the vehicle of the Al-Qassam Brigades, and there were Israeli captives there, people got out, watched, beat them, hit them, and I followed them and filmed. But I did not publish those videos. Why? Because I did not want to ruin the lives of the people who were filmed."Azaiza said he understood that if he revealed the faces of those beating the Israelis, eventually Israel would eliminate each one, and added, ""I did not want to be responsible, even indirectly, for the deaths of those people in exchange for a few likes and views online.” Of course Israel has been taking out October 7th leaders and participants one by one for many months now, but a journalist hiding the truth to protect terrorist thugs is exactly the problem that coverage of Israel and Gaza has been suffering for decades. And Azaiza described a much wider journalistic coverup in GazaAccording to MEMRI, New York-based Azaiza, who is an employee of UNRWA, and was evacuated with his family to Qatar in 2024, revealed photojournalists in Gaza opting not to film residents who criticize Hamas. "When someone gets out of the ambulance and says something like, "May Allah punish Hamas", and I'm filming him, and people around him turn off the camera.. I honestly couldn't bring myself to look away from what he is saying, or turn away the camera from what he was saying. Ultimately, he's simply blaming his government, the one responsible for dragging him into a war like this."Azaiza continued with an admission, "So I was in a state of inner conflict at first. To be honest, I found it hard to publish things like this at first... I've never seen a journalist from Gaza publish something like this." The host interjected, "Usually things like this are not published," to which Azaiza replied, "Right, if someone says something like this, many journalists lower the camera."According to the Jerusalem Post story, Azaiza also ripped Hamas's leadership, in no uncertain terms, accusing the terrorist group of bringing disaster upon the Gaza Strip.“From October 7 until today, show me one Palestinian who lives in Gaza and was protected by Hamas’s weapons? No one in Gaza received protection from those weapons.” Azaiza went on to criticize Hamas’s leadership over its months-long refusal to agree to a deal. “I am not waiting two years to judge whether Hamas made mistakes. I see the mistake in front of my eyes, when people are dying every day. Now they are talking about an agreement in which they will agree to lay down their weapons. You could have agreed to that already on October 11, 2023. Why was it so important that tens of thousands would be killed? On what table did you put the Palestinian issue? You brought us back to the Middle Ages. You caused women in Gaza to urinate into a plastic bucket. This does not bother you, but what bothers you is if someone suddenly criticizes you?”This interview provided devastating truth about what is taking place and has been taking place with media coverage inside Gaza since October 7th. Azaiza is no angel, having admittedly participated in covering up events, but one would hope that what he has come forth with, including his brutal take-down of Hamas, and how they have harmed the Palestinian people, would gain traction here in our media. Unfortunately, it will not.

NPR’s galling pro-Palestinian bias showed itself again on Friday’s Morning Edition, with Muslim co-host Leila Fadel celebrating the YouTube children’s entertainer -- and Hamas propagandist -- known as Ms. Rachel, in “Ms. Rachel has entered her album era, and she is so happy about it.”Leila Fadel, Host: If you have a young child in your life, you've likely heard this voice.[clip] Ms. Rachel: Hi. Hello. Can you say Mama?Fadel: Yes, that's Rachel Accurso, better known as Ms. Rachel….Ms. Rachel and her husband, Aron Accurso, better known as Mr. Aron, launched their YouTube channel Songs for Littles in 2019, after struggling to find good resources for their speech-delayed son….Besides promoting Ms. Rachel's first album, the segment also addressed international politics, with Fadel expressing sympathy for the entertainer being criticized for her anti-Israel libel of “genocide” (i.e. counteroffensives in a war started by the terrorist group Hamas invading an Israeli music festival, raping, killing, and taking hostages).Fadel: Your videos and music are not political, but you have also used your fame and your platform to talk about children in conflict in Ukraine and Sudan, especially in Gaza. And I just wonder if you see that as part of your calling as a children's entertainer. Rachel?Ms. Rachel: Oh, definitely. I think it's a responsibility that comes with having a platform like this. I feel like the kids kind of chose me in a way because they like my voice, and I feel like they feel the care I have for them…..Asked how Gaza “had become so central for” her, Ms. Rachel responded:Ms. Rachel: I work as an ambassador for Save the Children, and so I was getting updates and talking to people on the ground. Knowing what was happening, I couldn't not say something. Over 20,000 kids being killed and meeting kids who don't have their legs anymore, meeting a teenager who lost all of her siblings, and speaking with them, I'm just thinking, how could I not use my platform to say, stop, this is so wrong? And we all need to make the choice to speak out when there's a genocide happening.That would have been prime time for a real journalist to challenge the “genocide” lie. Instead, Fadel cherry-picked leftist ideologues to suggest the slur was correct.Fadel: She's faced intense backlash for her activism for calling Gaza a genocide, a conclusion that leading human rights groups and genocide scholars have come to. It's something Israel denies. I ask her what it's been like to be called names like antisemite or Hamas propagandist.Ms. Rachel: Well, it helps that I know my own heart, and I know God knows my heart. And my friends and community and family, and Aron knows my heart.“Genocide” has a specific legal definition, rooted in the Holocaust, something Israel’s war with Hamas has not come close to meeting, as demonstrated via various measurements. It’s more than a cheap smear but a blood libel against the Jews in Israel.An accompanying NPR.org story by Fadel and Ashley Westerman was also dismissive of complaints about Ms. Rachel spreading Hamas propaganda.….In 2025, she was accused of antisemitism and the group StopAntisemitism called for the Justice Department to investigate her over what it characterized as pro-Hamas propaganda. She has denied the accusations, which were ultimately found to be baseless.What you won’t hear on NPR: her 2025 YouTube clip featuring alleged Gaza journalist Motaz Azaiza. The New Arab gushed: “Beloved American children’s entertainer Ms Rachel has joined Palestinian journalist Motaz Azaiza in a heartfelt social media video that has captivated millions…[she] shared the clip with her “friend” Motaz Azaiza, a Palestinian journalist documenting the human toll of Israel’s war on Gaza.”But that same “friend” Azaiza made fascinating confessions on a podcast last month, including this one, courtesy The Jerusalem Post: “Gazan photographer and journalist Motaz Azaiza said he filmed Israeli hostages being beaten by a Gazan mob on October 7, 2023, but chose not to publish the footage because he feared it could put the Palestinians involved at risk.”