Vogue has come under fire for deliberately failing to mention Palestine in an article about Gigi Hadid's Instagram post, in which the Palestinian model pledged to donate all of her Fashion Month profits to war victims in Ukraine and Palestine.
And the British "middleeasteye" website reported that Gigi Hadid announced through an Instagram post that she will donate all of her profits from the fall 2022 shows "to help the victims of the horrors of war in Ukraine, as well as continue to support those suffering from occupation in Palestine."
"Vogue" magazine touched on Hadid's announcement in an article entitled "Gigi Hadid Donates Profits of Fashion Month to Help Ukrainians", without any reference to Palestine.
The magazine also dedicated an Instagram post about Gigi's announcement of a pledge to donate her profits, and quoted almost verbatim what was stated in it.
I wonder why vogue edited Palestine out of their caption here?
despite Gigi hadid clearly saying she was splitting her earnings between Ukraine and Palestine?
The piece does not even mention Palestine despite Gigi Hadids own Instagram caption which they are reporting on pic.twitter.com/Yfr8wP6iB2
— Sarah Hagi (@KindaHagi) March 8, 2022
The report indicated that the publication was initially criticized by "anti-Semitic groups".
The website "Stop Anti-Semitism" said that Gigi Hadid and her team "used the Russian invasion of Ukraine to advance their political agenda to discredit Israel," and added, "By exploiting the suffering of other people, Hadid reached a new level of decadence."
The next day, social media users were surprised by an edit in the comment to the photo by deleting the Palestine-related part of it and the end of the model’s statement that appeared in the story published on Instagram to cover her statements in which she said “Hands off Ukraine, hands off Palestine, peace, peace.” peace".
But the magazine re-edited its Instagram post on Wednesday to say that Gigi Hadid will donate her earnings “to support relief efforts in Ukraine as well as continue to support relief efforts in Palestine.” The magazine added an “editor’s note,” saying, “We have updated this comment to accurately reflect the statement. Gigi Hadid on her donation.
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A post shared by Vogue (@voguemagazine)
Apartheid against the Palestinians
Prominent figures and pioneers of social networking sites criticized what they called the hypocrisy of "Vogue" and its defense of the apartheid regime directed against the Palestinians and its support for expelling them from their homes and the obliteration of their culture, history and heritage.
Palestinian activist Muhammad al-Kurd responded to the post, saying, "A major media outlet has literally erased the facts of a news publication because the Zionists did not like it. This indicates a lack of journalistic integrity and ethics."
Gigi's sister, Alana Hadid, commented on the modified "Vogue" post and denounced the removal of Palestine from the article she published.
Either report the facts or don't report at all: erasing Gigi's Palestinian heritage and solidarity is exactly why certain conflicts are given more attention and empathy than others.
https://t.co/T82Yv91NGI
— Hanna Ines Flint (@HannaFlint) March 8, 2022
A social media user drew attention to the "shameful" editorial line followed by "Vogue" magazine, which "aims to whitewash Israeli apartheid practices", using the hashtag "Palestinian lives are important."
Another post pointed to the irony of Hadid's use of Instagram "to increase the number of posts and views, and then change it for fear of being accused by the Israelis of anti-Semitism."
The Middle East Eye report stated that Amnesty International recently issued a report stating that Israel's discrimination against the Palestinians amounts to the practice of apartheid, following similar reports from other human rights groups.
So @GiGiHadid pledges to donate her from Fall 2022 to relief efforts for earnings occupied Ukrainians *and* occupied Palestinians and then @voguemagazine magazine just erases the Palestinians from its @instagram post on her pledge?
pic.twitter.com/rO7xao87lZ
— Mehdi Hasan (@mehdirhasan) March 8, 2022
The Vogue incident regarding the removal of the word "Palestine" from Gigi Hadid's publication comes at a time when activists and critics are increasingly interested in biased media coverage of the conflict in Ukraine;
They argue that it reflects the tendency to regard the lives of a particular people as more important than others.
Middle East Eye said it had contacted both model Gigi Hadid and Vogue magazine for comments on the matter, but had not received a response as of press time.
Hadid family and Palestine
This is not the first time that the Hadid family has been censored online for their views on Palestine.
In 2020, one of Bella Hadid's Instagram posts was deleted because she posted a photo of her father's passport and place of birth "Palestine", with the caption "You can't erase history by silencing people. It doesn't work like that."
Gigi Hadid has previously spoken of the double standards surrounding the Palestinian issue, explaining in one of her Instagram stories, "One cannot stand up for racial equality, gay rights, women's rights, condemn corrupt regimes, dictatorships and other forms of injustice, yet choose to ignore the oppressive practices of the Palestinians."