Western media coverage of Gaza has fallen elevenfold from its peak after October 7. The movement that rose with the headlines also shrank with them.
Details. On 12 October 2025, US President Donald Trump declared an end to the conflict in Gaza. By autumn 2026, media coverage had fallen threefold, and now approximately elevenfold from its October 2023 peak.► Despite declining attention, Israeli military operations and the humanitarian crisis in Gaza continue. At least 1,640 people have been killed and 5,116 wounded during the ceasefire period, while 67% of the population suffers from acute food insecurity. Destruction and forced displacement continue.
Context. At the start of the war, bourgeois media gave Gaza near-total attention, pushing the deepening capitalist crisis down the agenda. As that crisis grew, attention moved on. US-China trade disputes remain unresolved, the Middle East conflict keeps expanding, and European governments are accelerating militarisation while living conditions worsen.
► US media ownership has also further concentrated. The Ellison family's $110 billion acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery brings CNN, CBS News and The Free Press under monopoly ownership. Following changes to TikTok's US ownership, with 3 American investors holding the majority stake, pro-Palestinian journalists have reported account restrictions.
► Larry Ellison, Oracle's co-founder and a longtime Trump ally, has donated $16.6 million to Friends of the Israel Defense Forces. The Ellison family's expanded media empire, approved by the US state, placed major news outlets under the control of capitalists with close ties to the US state and an interest in its foreign policy.
Important to Know. Those who made "Palestine only" their politics were following the media's agenda, not their own. When the feeds moved on and workers shifted their attention to their own worsening conditions, the movement lost its footing, whilst the growing imperialist crisis behind the conflict and declining living standards has continued.
► The movement's character made this possible. Nationalist and petty-bourgeois pacifist slogans dominated over class solidarity between Palestinian and Israeli workers. This created an illusion of activity with no effect on the war.
► So-called "communists" tailed it. Instead of leading it toward class struggle, many subordinated the fight for socialism to Palestine. Some moved to unconditional support for Hamas and Iranian-aligned forces, becoming extras for imperialist interests.
► From this basis, the movement has increasingly been institutionalised through European governments' symbolic condemnations and bourgeois left-wing and independent politicians channeling support for Palestine into electoral gains.