Why is the Knight-Wallace Center for Journalism hosting someone who spreads racist and dehumanizing misinformation? On November 13, Lachter denied the figure of 10,000 Palestinians killed by Israel, saying that such numbers were “exaggerated” and could not be trusted. Lachter abandoned journalistic integrity when denying internationally-recognized mass civilian deaths.

Lachter mocked student protestors at Michigan, expressing shock at solidarity among diverse groups on campus, whom she claimed were “not attached to the event” and only protesting because “it’s a cool trend.” Lachter’s feigned distress over students of all backgrounds supporting an end to apartheid reveals her true goal of using her platform to gaslight and delegitimize intersectional organizing efforts. She spreads misinformation by framing the struggle for Palestinian liberation as a religious conflict when, in fact, students protesting are united in fighting for a world free of state violence, settler colonialism, and occupation.

Lachter incites violence against students by projecting claims of genocide on those chanting “from the river to the sea, Palestine will be free.” This is a call for an end to Israeli apartheid and for freedom across the land where, before the Nakba, Palestinians of all backgrounds, including Muslim, Jewish and Christian Palestinians, lived peacefully together. Lachter‘s bad faith smears are rooted in racist tropes and Islamophobic propaganda. Her claim is a fear-mongering tactic that distracts from the *actual* ongoing genocide executed by Israel that has killed 25,000+ Palestinians in the past 4 months.

Lachter cites propaganda to spread misinformation that condones the Israeli bombing of Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza. This is despite many local and international investigations, including an exposé by the Washington Post, that found Israeli officials lied about the existence of a command center under the medical complex. There is no “journalistic integrity” when justifying the carpet bombing and siege of hospitals.

Why does the Knight-Wallace Center for Journalism honor a genocide-enabler who speaks as an unofficial spokesperson for the Israeli occupation forces? Lachter condones the massacre of 25,000+ civilians, saying “we’re doing good for the Palestinian people.” This racist justification for violence against indigenous people on their lands must be condemned for the white saviorism and colonial propaganda that it is.

Why is the Knight-Wallace Center for Journalism proud to platform someone like Lachter who incites violence against student organizers for Palestinian freedom by deceptively conflating them as “pro-Hamas”? In doing so, she weakly reaches for tired zionist pinkwashing propaganda that erases the sexual and gender diversity of Palestinians—none of whom are spared from Israel’s genocide.