NBC News correspondent Ayman Mohyeldin, an Egyptian-American, was kicking a soccer ball with the four boys on the Gaza beach right before the tragic, headline-making killings. Mohyeldin posted details of what he witnessed, photographs and video on his Twitter and Instagram accounts. He also recounted what he saw on MCNBC’s All In with Chris Hayes. In other words, Mohyeldin’s story was getting a lot of attention.
Now there is speculation in the media that Mohyeldin was pulled from his journalistic duties, and ordered to leave Gaza, due to his reporting. Mohyeldin’s “balanced and even-handed” first-hand reporting allegedly made some influential people in American political and media circles uncomfortable. A close-up look at the human toll can make any political argument for a bombing campaign that kills children seem specious. Conservative media outlets like NewsBusters and Real Clear Politics have attacked Mohyeldin as a “Hamas spokesman.” The day after the killings on the Gaza beach, NBC flew correspondent Richard Engle to Tel Aviv to report on the aftermath. Mohyeldin hasn’t tweeted since.
