[1] The editorial process behind the article was criticized, with concerns raised including the use of inexperienced reporters, an overreliance on witness testimony, weak corroboration, and a lack of supporting forensic evidence.
[5] The investigation was led by Times staffer Jeffrey Gettleman, who had won a Pulitzer Prize in 2012, specializes in reporting conflicts and human rights issues, and has covered Iraq, Sudan, Somalia and Ukraine.
[2] They spent two months collecting video footage, photographs, GPS data from mobile phones and interviews from more than 150 people, and drew the conclusion that there were at least seven locations where sexual assaults and mutilations of Israeli women and girls were carried out.
[1] The beginning of the article describes a video as showing a murdered victim "lying on her back, dress torn, legs spread, vagina exposed"'; she is identified as Gal Abdush.
[2]: ¶38 However, statements of witnesses, including from Shari Mendes, Raz Cohen, and a rave attendee called Sapir, convinced Schwartz that the pattern of sexual violence was systematic.
[1] The article cites experts as asserting that "it is not unusual to have limited forensic evidence" during wartime, quoting law professor Adil Haque stating that prosecution of sexual crimes may be able to move forward years later just based on victim and witness testimony.
[1] Gal's sisters, Tali Brakha and Miral Altar, and one brother-in-law, Nissim Abdush, contested claims that she had been raped, stating it didn't make sense given the timing of events.
"[11] According to Haaretz, "The report reverberated around the world and was viewed in Israel as a highly significant step in recognizing the atrocities, pushing back against the international community's alleged silence and hypocrisy on the subject.
"[6] On January 3, Mondoweiss published an article by an "anonymous group of Palestinian journalists in Israel" containing a critical review of statements in "Screams Without Words" about Gal Abdush.
[24] On February 28, The Intercept published an exposé building on claims by Mondoweiss, Electronic Intifada and The Grayzone that there were inconsistencies in the story[2]: ¶47 and that it relied on witnesses despite questions about their credibility.
"[2][25] Eden Wessely, who filmed Gal Abdush's body, told Ynet in January 2024 that New York Times co-authors Schwartz and Sella had "called me again and again and explained how important [her footage and testimony were] to Israeli hasbara.
[2]: ¶15 On February 29, the New York Times came out in support of the investigation, calling it "rigorously reported, sourced and edited", and sent an email to The Intercept disputing a number of their assertions and seeking corrections.
"[26] Per Smith, "Screams Without Words" "played a central role in an Israeli campaign to criticize American feminist organizations and the U.N. for not siding with Israel" in the war in Gaza.
Few deny women were horribly assaulted amid the slaughter on Oct. 7"; he quoted a veteran foreign correspondent as saying that "the rushed story — and attempt to mechanically take it apart — is a disservice to the actual humans at the center of it."
[30][31][28] The union alleged that the investigators had been especially interested in employees of Middle Eastern or North African ethnic origin—and that they had been poring over the membership and communications of an affinity group of these employees—characterizing this as "racially motivated" activity; NYT denied this.
[32] In April 2024, the Wall Street Journal reported that the internal investigation was intended to signal "enough" after "years of fights with its workforce over a variety of issues involving journalistic integrity".
[34] On 26 March 2024, the New York Times published an article by two journalists not involved in the original investigation about a video which it said undercut the testimony of a ZAKA paramedic whose claims had been included in "Screams Without Words".