Muslim Reporters Hit for Bias

In the wake of recent violent clashes in the Israel-Hamas conflict, MSNBC has made subtle adjustments to its programming involving three prominent Muslim broadcasters, stoking debates within and beyond the network.

Last Thursday, MSNBC chose not to air the scheduled episode of "The Mehdi Hasan Show," hosted by Mehdi Hasan, on the Peacock streaming platform.

Additionally, the network reversed plans to have Ayman Mohyeldin temporarily host Joy Reid's 7 p.m. show on Thursday and Friday. Mohyeldin, a respected Egyptian-American journalist and veteran NBC News correspondent, had covered the conflict in Gaza for two years.

Furthermore, there are indications that MSNBC intends to have Alicia Menendez fill in for Ali Velshi, another Muslim-American host, who had interviewed a spokesperson for the Palestinian Authority in the upcoming weekend, two network sources with knowledge of the plans told Semafor.

These adjustments have raised concerns among some MSNBC staff who believe the three hosts possess deep knowledge of the conflict. However, NBC insists that these changes are coincidental and that the three broadcasters continue to provide reporting and analysis on air.

A network official refuted any suggestion that Hasan or Mohyeldin were sidelined, emphasizing that Mohyeldin had appeared as a guest on several MSNBC programs over the past few days. While he did not host Joy Reid's show, the network retained its regular weekday hosts rather than handing over control to weekend anchors. Hasan's show on Peacock is pre-recorded, and NBC claimed that shelving it was aimed at keeping the NBC streaming service's coverage up to date.

In a statement, NBCUniversal Executive Vice President of Communications Stephen Labaton stressed, "We have and will continue to cover the barbaric terrorist attacks on defenseless civilians in Israel last weekend and the tragic war it has provoked thoroughly and in all their dimensions."

The adjustments come as MSNBC, often aligned with the Democratic Party, has displayed strong solidarity with Israel following the recent Hamas attacks.

This shift has provoked internal and external objections and led to social media criticism of Hasan, Mohyeldin, and Velshi.

Although Hasan has been vocal on social media, condemning the Hamas attack and highlighting the plight of civilians in Gaza.

The divisions over the Middle East conflict have permeated the company's internal politics. A network-wide support event for staff affected by the conflict led to discord on a Slack channel when a producer for Velshi's show inquired about the absence of Palestinian representation at the event.

The debate escalated, leading an NBC Human Resources representative to intervene and advise staff to "maintain decorum." Subsequently, a diversity, equity, and inclusion meeting was derailed when questions arose about discussing the historical context of the conflict.

While domestic news events usually show narrow ideological distances among MSNBC hosts, covering Middle East conflicts has consistently sparked controversy over the past decade.

In 2014, Ayman Mohyeldin, the network's most experienced reporter in Gaza, was abruptly replaced during NBC's coverage of the region without a clear explanation. Similar discomfort with Hasan and Mohyeldin's coverage emerged when violence erupted in Gaza in 2021.

Criticism of the three Muslim anchors, among American journalists' highest-profile Muslim voices, appears disproportionate to their on-air comments. Their concerns for Palestinian civilians and skepticism regarding Israeli military actions have drawn strong reactions from some pundits, including claims of "denying Israel's existence."

MSNBC's efforts appear geared toward avoiding alignment with a perspective centered on Palestinian civilians and protecting its Muslim broadcasters by placing them as correspondents and analysts rather than as central figures in its programming.