Recently, thousands of social media posts have alleged that some of the images showing the suffering in Gaza are manipulated. These accusations target visuals shared by both social media users and mainstream media outlets.

Such allegations risk fueling a narrative that journalists working in the dangerous conditions of Gaza can't be trusted.

DW Fact check investigated the allegations.

Claim: A widely shared postaccuses Time Magazine of publishing a staged image. It compares Time’s photo to another published by the German tabloid Bild, suggesting the scene was orchestrated. The images show people in Gaza waiting for food with empty pots.

The official Israeli Instagram account of the Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs posted both images side-by-side, claiming: "One photo was staged. The other debunked it." The post, shared thousands of times, added, "Manufactured emotion. Media complicity. Truth discarded."

Similar claims were made here, hereand here.

DW Fact check: False

The two photos do not depict the same scene. We analyzed the images on various levels. First, just a simple look at the content of the images: A side-by-side comparison reveals different individuals and containers: in Time's image, many people hold plastic containers, while in the other, most hold metal pots. So, Time's image does not show the image taken by the photographer shown in the other photograph.

We also looked at the metadata and licensing of the two images. Time's photo was licensed via Getty Imagesand credited to photographer Ali Jadallah of Anadolu/Getty. It was posted on Time's Instagram account and appears in Getty's databasedated July 22, 2025.

The second photo, published by Bild, appears on the German agency Picture Alliance’s website. It shows photojournalist Anas Zayed Fteiha, but was taken by Khames Alrefi (not pictured), as noted in the credit. It was distributed via the Turkish news agency Anadolu.The agency categorically denied the allegations of staging the picture in its response to DW’s query.

It's also important to note the dates: The image used by Bild is dated July 24, two days after the Time photo. While both were taken in Gaza, and at the same food kitchen, they do not show the same scene, as they were shot on different days.

Allegations of staging

We reviewed hundreds of images in online databases from picture agencies. Many were taken at the same location on different days, both before and during aid distributions. This leads to the conclusion that this is a genuine food kitchen where Gazans come regularly. 

In the screenshot below from Anadolu, several images show photographer Fteiha at the same distribution point.

The controversy intensified after Bild published an article on August 5 alleging that photojournalists in Gaza stage images to generate global sympathy, using the picture of Fteiha to support its argument.

Claim: "This Gaza photographer stages Hamas propaganda," reads the headline of Bild’s article, accompanied by an image of Fteiha filming a crowd in Gaza. The article accuses him of staging the scene.

DW Fact check: False

The image in question was taken in Gaza and shows people waiting with empty pots before food distribution at the food kitchen—consistent with a pre-distribution moment seen in other images. It is dated July 24, 2025, by the agency.

DW’s research found that Anadolu was documenting Fteiha’s work on the same day. The agency’s database includes several portrait images (including the one used by Bild) and an 11-minute video of him working in Gaza. The video caption states: "Palestinian journalists continue to report from Gaza under extreme conditions... Among them is Anadolu freelance cameraman Anas Zeyad Fteha (Fteiha), who has documented the dire situation firsthand." 

The film shows Fteiha working on location and visiting the food distribution site. It also documents the process itself, making it clear that there is a short barrier between the crowd and the point where the food was handed out.

All the pictures and the video are available in the public domain.  The Anadolu Agency told DW that the agency stands firmly by its photographer Z.M. Fetaiha (Fteiha) and that the photographs reflect the humanitarian crisis they witness in Gaza "in its starkest form."

Mounting evidence of famine in Gaza

The people in Gaza are facing a severe food crisis and starvation. The United Nations recently warnedof mounting evidence of famine in the Palestinian territory, confirming fears of widespread hunger.

"The facts are in, and they are undeniable," UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said.

US President Donald Trump also acknowledged the situation in Gaza and pledged greater involvement in food distribution.

"We can save a lot of people, I mean some of those kids. That's real starvation. I see it and you can't fake it," Trump said.

Images from Gaza are frequently met with politicization and skepticism. Narratives shift rapidly, and images showing civilian suffering are often called staged or manipulated — without evidence. These claims spread quickly on social media.

Tommaso Canetta, deputy director of Pagella Politica and Facta News, says that in recent weeks they have detected "the ongoing circulation of the ‘Pallywood’ conspiracy theory" in many EU member states.

The term ‘Pallywood’ is used to falsely claim that images of real victims of Israeli military actions in Palestinian territories were staged with actors. In an exchange with DW, Canetta shared several examples.

"Notably, some of the most symbolic and appalling images of the hunger in Gaza have been falsely framed as ‘out of context' (another example here) in a clear attempt to deny the real consequences of the foreign policy of the current Israeli government," Canetta told DW.

Israel has barred international reporters from entering and reporting from Gaza since the October 7, 2023, Hamas terror attack on Israel, except when embedded with the Israeli army. As a result, local Palestinian journalists, as well as aid workers and doctors, are the only ones able to provide crucial insights into events there.

Accusations of media manipulationshould be critically examined, especially in conflict zones where misinformation can spread rapidly.

Torsten Neuendorff contributed to this piece

Edited by: Rachel Baig, Sarah Hofmann