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The Washington Post Uses Its New AI Tool to Cast Fault on Israel
Partygoers at the Supernova Psy-Trance Festival running to safety during the Hamas attack on Oct. 7, 2023, as seen in the documentary “Supernova: The Music Festival Massacre.” Photo: Screenshot
One of the most important events in recent Middle East history took place 25 years ago this summer. In July 2000, President Bill Clinton brought Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak and Palestinian Authority President Yasser Arafat to Camp David to negotiate an end to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Despite generous concessions offered by Barak, Arafat refused to accept them and the talks ended in failure.
Given that the Palestinians still don’t have a state, one would think that Arafat’s refusal to negotiate peace would be a constant element of reporting on the Middle East. But it isn’t.
I searched The Washington Post for clues.
The Post has a new artificial intelligence (AI) feature that answers questions by aggregating information from the paper’s extensive archives.
So I entered “Arafat Barak Camp David” into the AI search bar and learned, “The summit’s failure was attributed to the inability of the parties to agree on key issues, and it highlighted the challenges of negotiating a peaceful resolution to the conflict.”
In contrast, when I entered the same terms into Google’s AI, there was a lot more information including, “US President Clinton blamed Arafat for the failure, and this narrative gained traction in the US and Israel.”
AI is a tool. It applies an algorithm to inputs. If the inputs are faulty, then the results will be too. If the Post’s reporting omitted or downplayed Arafat’s responsibility for the failure of peace, then the AI tool also will.
In fact, a 2023 Post retrospective of the failed summit observed, “… the disputes between Israelis and Palestinians proved impervious to Clinton’s brand of charm, cajolery and crisis management.”
There was nothing about Israeli concessions and nothing about Arafat’s refusal to accept a deal. Why would a reporter deviate from the approach established a quarter century ago?
I asked the Post’s AI about “Israel occupation West Bank,” and its answer began, “The Israeli occupation of the West Bank has led to significant tensions and violence in the region.”
When Israel is involved, the Post assigns blame.
The answer concluded with, “The international community has called for an end to the occupation and the establishment of a Palestinian state, with many countries recognizing Palestine as a sovereign state. However, the Israeli government has resisted these efforts, with some arguing that a Palestinian state would pose a threat to Israel’s security.”
Prompted by the AI tool, I asked, “how much has terror increased since Israel made peace with the PLO in 1993?”
The AI tool responded, “Terror has increased significantly since the Israel-PLO peace agreement in 1993.”
That observation says that empirically a Palestinian state could very likely be a threat to Israel. But the AI tool doesn’t have the capability to incorporate it into its responses.
I only asked about increased terror, so this sentence is interesting, “The conflict has escalated, with Israel launching airstrikes and ground operations in Gaza, and Palestinian militant groups firing rockets into Israel.” It’s odd that the AI tool didn’t mention one of the deadliest terror attacks in history on October 7, 2023, and instead turned its attention to the overall conflict.
Finally, I asked the Post’s AI tool about “sexual violence October 7.” The response began, “On October 7, there were reports of sexual violence, including forced nudity and the posting of ‘sexualized images’ on social media.”
Seriously, “there were reports?”
Reading further down in the reply, the AI tool observed, “Witnesses and first responders described graphic scenes of violence, including gang rape and the torture of women.”
That should have been the first sentence, with the full response building on that. Instead, most of the article is casting doubts on the extent of the sexual violence, including, incredibly, a denial by Hamas.
The reply also noted that, “the full extent of sexual violence that day will likely never be fully known due to stigma, trauma, and the fact that many victims were probably killed.” Sexual assault victims cannot describe what happened to them, but their bodies unfortunately would show signs of the trauma they sustained.
It’s shocking that a major American newspaper played down the extent of one of the more brutal aspects of the October 7 terror attack, when there’s plenty of corroborating evidence supporting the charges.
The Post’s AI tool is important, not as a historical tool, but the way it exposes the Post’s myopia with respect to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. If an event can be blamed on Israel, the Post is not shy about ascribing blame. If the Palestinians are to blame, the Post will do all it can to minimize or erase it.
David Gerstman is a freelance journalist living in Baltimore. He was previously senior editor of The Tower magazine.
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After False Dawns, Gazans Hope Trump Will Force End to Two-Year-Old War
Palestinians walk past a residential building destroyed in previous Israeli strikes, after Hamas agreed to release hostages and accept some other terms in a US plan to end the war, in Nuseirat, central Gaza Strip October 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Mahmoud Issa
Exhausted Palestinians in Gaza clung to hopes on Saturday that US President Donald Trump would keep up pressure on Israel to end a two-year-old war that has killed tens of thousands and displaced the entire population of more than two million.
Hamas’ declaration that it was ready to hand over hostages and accept some terms of Trump’s plan to end the conflict while calling for more talks on several key issues was greeted with relief in the enclave, where most homes are now in ruins.
“It’s happy news, it saves those who are still alive,” said 32-year-old Saoud Qarneyta, reacting to Hamas’ response and Trump’s intervention. “This is enough. Houses have been damaged, everything has been damaged, what is left? Nothing.”
GAZAN RESIDENT HOPES ‘WE WILL BE DONE WITH WARS’
Ismail Zayda, 40, a father of three, displaced from a suburb in northern Gaza City where Israel launched a full-scale ground operation last month, said: “We want President Trump to keep pushing for an end to the war, if this chance is lost, it means that Gaza City will be destroyed by Israel and we might not survive.
“Enough, two years of bombardment, death and starvation. Enough,” he told Reuters on a social media chat.
“God willing this will be the last war. We will hopefully be done with the wars,” said 59-year-old Ali Ahmad, speaking in one of the tented camps where most Palestinians now live.
“We urge all sides not to backtrack. Every day of delay costs lives in Gaza, it is not just time wasted, lives get wasted too,” said Tamer Al-Burai, a Gaza City businessman displaced with members of his family in central Gaza Strip.
After two previous ceasefires — one near the start of the war and another earlier this year — lasted only a few weeks, he said; “I am very optimistic this time, maybe Trump’s seeking to be remembered as a man of peace, will bring us real peace this time.”
RESIDENT WORRIES THAT NETANYAHU WILL ‘SABOTAGE’ DEAL
Some voiced hopes of returning to their homes, but the Israeli military issued a fresh warning to Gazans on Saturday to stay out of Gaza City, describing it as a “dangerous combat zone.”
Gazans have faced previous false dawns during the past two years, when Trump and others declared at several points during on-off negotiations between Hamas, Israel and Arab and US mediators that a deal was close, only for war to rage on.
“Will it happen? Can we trust Trump? Maybe we trust Trump, but will Netanyahu abide this time? He has always sabotaged everything and continued the war. I hope he ends it now,” said Aya, 31, who was displaced with her family to Deir Al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip.
She added: “Maybe there is a chance the war ends at October 7, two years after it began.”
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Mass Rally in Rome on Fourth Day of Italy’s Pro-Palestinian Protests
A Pro-Palestinian demonstrator waves a Palestinian flag during a national protest for Gaza in Rome, Italy, October 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Claudia Greco
Large crowds assembled in central Rome on Saturday for the fourth straight day of protests in Italy since Israel intercepted an international flotilla trying to deliver aid to Gaza, and detained its activists.
People holding banners and Palestinian flags, chanting “Free Palestine” and other slogans, filed past the Colosseum, taking part in a march that organizers hoped would attract at least 1 million people.
“I’m here with a lot of other friends because I think it is important for us all to mobilize individually,” Francesco Galtieri, a 65-year-old musician from Rome, said. “If we don’t all mobilize, then nothing will change.”
Since Israel started blocking the flotilla late on Wednesday, protests have sprung up across Europe and in other parts of the world, but in Italy they have been a daily occurrence, in multiple cities.
On Friday, unions called a general strike in support of the flotilla, with demonstrations across the country that attracted more than 2 million, according to organizers. The interior ministry estimated attendance at around 400,000.
Italy’s right-wing government has been critical of the protests, with Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni suggesting that people would skip work for Gaza just as an excuse for a longer weekend break.
On Saturday, Meloni blamed protesters for insulting graffiti that appeared on a statue of the late Pope John Paul II outside Rome’s main train station, where Pro-Palestinian groups have been holding a protest picket.
“They say they are taking to the streets for peace, but then they insult the memory of a man who was a true defender and builder of peace. A shameful act committed by people blinded by ideology,” she said in a statement.
Israel launched its Gaza offensive after Hamas terrorists staged a cross border attack on October 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people and taking 251 people hostage.
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Hamas Says It Agrees to Release All Israeli Hostages Under Trump Gaza Plan
Smoke rises during an Israeli military operation in Gaza City, as seen from the central Gaza Strip, October 2, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Dawoud Abu Alkas
Hamas said on Friday it had agreed to release all Israeli hostages, alive or dead, under the terms of US President Donald Trump’s Gaza proposal, and signaled readiness to immediately enter mediated negotiations to discuss the details.