Critics say UN’s global comms office promotes anti-Israel bias

As a major “liquidity crisis” looms for United Nations entities due to funding cuts from Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), experts are calling for a closer examination of the U.N.’s media branch, the Department of Global Communications, for its alleged role in disseminating anti-Israel propaganda. Former National Security Council Special Assistant to the President and Senior Director for International Organization Affairs, Hugh Dugan, believes that the U.N. is facing a real liquidity crisis due to its inefficiencies and wasteful spending.

The Department of Global Communications is responsible for providing press support, managing the U.N. Dag Hammarskjöld Library, operating worldwide information centers, and overseeing the U.N.’s Twitter presence. A full independent review of the Department’s activities is scheduled to begin this year. Anne Bayefsky, director of the Touro Institute on Human Rights and the Holocaust and president of Human Rights Voices, has called for the U.S. to investigate the Department of Global Communications’ funding. Bayefsky has criticized the U.N. for being a breeding ground for disinformation, hate speech, incitement to violence, and antisemitism.

The Department’s focus on Israel was highlighted in a recent report, which detailed the establishment of crisis communications cells for various global disasters, including those in Haiti, Sudan, Ukraine, and Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territory. The report mentioned the need for “strong messaging and outreach” to garner international support for the U.N.’s work in the region. This emphasis on the Israel-Palestine conflict has raised concerns about the Department’s bias and propaganda efforts.

In response to questions about misinformation and disinformation, U.N. Under-Secretary-General for Communications, Melissa Fleming, emphasized the need to clarify the U.N.’s role and analyze information environments to mitigate risks to the organization’s work. However, Dugan expressed concerns about the Department’s involvement in shaping narratives and storylines that align with its employees’ biases.

While the Department dedicates significant resources to the Israel-Palestine crisis, experts like David May of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies argue that the U.N. should focus on addressing actual genocides, such as the situation in Sudan. May believes that the Department’s emphasis on the Palestinian narrative detracts from more pressing humanitarian crises.

As the U.S. withholds funding to Palestinian-specific U.N. bodies, there is a growing call for greater scrutiny of general U.N. departments that may have an anti-Israel agenda. Dugan and other experts believe that the Department of Global Communications must be held accountable for its role in perpetuating biases and misinformation. With ongoing funding cuts and a push for transparency, the U.N. faces a critical moment in addressing its internal challenges and promoting a more balanced approach to global communication.