On Saturday, August 16, 2025, Manhattan’s busy streets are set to transform as tens of thousands of protesters are expected to gather for the Stop Starving Gaza march. The demonstration, which kicks off at 2 p.m. on the steps of the New York Public Library near Bryant Park, is organized by a coalition of advocacy groups including the Palestinian Youth Movement, National Students for Justice in Palestine, ANSWER Coalition, The People’s Forum, International Peoples’ Assembly, Al-Awda-NY, and the Palestinian American Community Center of New Jersey (PACC), according to PIX11 News and The Associated Press.
The protest comes amid growing outrage over the worsening humanitarian crisis in Gaza. Organizers and participants are rallying against what they describe as a man-made famine, with the People’s Forum stating on X, “The blockade of Gaza has created a devastating hunger crisis that worsens daily as Palestinians continue to die of starvation and malnutrition.” The group further alleges, “Now, reports show the US is working with Israel to tie future aid to Israeli plans for full occupation.”
Since June 2025, Gaza’s Health Ministry has reported over 100 deaths caused by malnutrition, painting a grim picture of the territory’s struggle. Israel, however, has denied these claims, asserting that food and water packages have been airdropped into the region and accusing Hamas of diverting aid intended for civilians. The debate over responsibility and access to humanitarian assistance has only intensified as the crisis drags on.
Adding fuel to the fire, Israel’s finance minister announced a new settlement project in the West Bank on August 14, 2025. Critics, including Palestinian leaders and international observers, argue that the project threatens to split the West Bank into two isolated sections, further complicating an already volatile situation. The settlement announcement has drawn sharp criticism and is seen by many as a provocation at a time when tensions are already running high.
Saturday’s protest is not limited to those who can physically attend. Organizers are encouraging supporters across the country to participate by donning kuffiyehs or black armbands, picketing Israeli embassies and consulates, staging walkouts from work or school, hosting speak-outs, and rallying in front of businesses that profit from Israeli operations in Gaza. The movement seeks to amplify the voices of those suffering in Gaza and to pressure policymakers to take concrete action.
But as images and stories of hunger and hardship emerge from Gaza, another battle is unfolding online: the fight over truth and misinformation. In recent weeks, thousands of social media posts have accused various images depicting Gaza’s suffering of being staged or manipulated. These claims, often targeting both individual users and mainstream media outlets, risk undermining the credibility of journalists working under dangerous conditions in Gaza.
One particularly viral accusation involved a pair of photographs: one published by Time Magazine on July 22, 2025, showing people in Gaza waiting for food with empty plastic containers, and another published by the German tabloid Bild two days later, which depicted a similar scene but with people holding metal pots. The official Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs Instagram account posted the images side by side, alleging, “One photo was staged. The other debunked it.” The post, which was shared thousands of times, went further: “Manufactured emotion. Media complicity. Truth discarded.”
However, a detailed investigation by DW Fact Check found these allegations to be baseless. According to DW, “The two photos do not depict the same scene. 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.” Moreover, the photos were taken on different days—July 22 and July 24, respectively—and by different photographers. Time’s image was credited to Ali Jadallah of Anadolu/Getty, while the Bild photo was taken by Khames Alrefi and shows photojournalist Anas Zayed Fteiha at work.
The controversy escalated when Bild published an article on August 5, 2025, alleging that photojournalists in Gaza stage images to generate global sympathy. The article accused Fteiha of orchestrating the scene. Yet, DW’s fact-checking revealed that Anadolu Agency had documented Fteiha’s work in Gaza on July 24, including an 11-minute video showing him filming the food distribution process. The agency stated, “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.”
Anadolu Agency stood firmly by its photographer, affirming that the photographs “reflect the humanitarian crisis they witness in Gaza in its starkest form.” The agency categorically denied any staging, and the video evidence supported the authenticity of the images. This finding was echoed by DW, which concluded, “All the pictures and the video are available in the public domain.”
The United Nations has also weighed in, warning of mounting evidence of famine in Gaza. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres declared, “The facts are in, and they are undeniable,” underscoring the severity of the food crisis. U.S. President Donald Trump acknowledged the dire situation as well, pledging greater American involvement in food distribution and stating, “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.”
Yet, as the humanitarian crisis deepens, Israel has maintained strict controls on media access to Gaza. Since the October 7, 2023, Hamas attack on Israel, international reporters have been barred from entering Gaza unless embedded with the Israeli army. This policy has left local Palestinian journalists, aid workers, and doctors as the primary sources of information from inside the besieged territory.
The battle over the narrative has not been confined to Gaza or Israel. According to Tommaso Canetta, deputy director of Pagella Politica and Facta News, “the ongoing circulation of the ‘Pallywood’ conspiracy theory” has been detected in many EU member states. This theory falsely claims that images of Palestinian suffering are staged with actors, a narrative that has gained traction in recent weeks. Canetta told DW, “Notably, some of the most symbolic and appalling images of the hunger in Gaza have been falsely framed as ‘out of context’ in a clear attempt to deny the real consequences of the foreign policy of the current Israeli government.”
As protesters rally in Manhattan and across the globe, the dual crises of starvation and misinformation remain at the forefront. The struggle for truth—about what’s happening in Gaza, who is responsible, and what the world should do next—continues to unfold not just on the ground, but in the digital spaces where public opinion is shaped and reshaped every day.
With the eyes of the world on New York this weekend, the Stop Starving Gaza march stands as both a plea for urgent humanitarian relief and a call for vigilance against the spread of misleading narratives. The voices from Gaza, amplified by local journalists and global advocates, demand attention, action, and above all, an honest reckoning with the realities on the ground.
