Explosive allegations that babies were decapitated en masse at a kibbutz in Israel during Hamas's terror attacks earlier this week—allegations yesterday repeated by U.S. President Biden, among others—are now being walked back by officials in Israel and the White House.
"There have been cases of Hamas militants carrying out beheadings and other ISIS-style atrocities. However, we cannot confirm if the victims were men or women, soldiers or civilians, adults or children," the official said.
… A US administration official later clarified Biden's remarks, telling CNN that neither Biden nor his aides had seen pictures or had received confirmed reports of children or infants having been beheaded by Hamas. The official clarified that Biden was referring to public comments from media outlets and Israeli officials.
The first Gulf War's version of this seems relevant context. There's the bushel of truth, in that there were undoubtedly infants among those murdered by the terrorists. But the "baby massacre" stock story fitted loosely to the truth has no interest in it. Claiming it so boldly then backing off it so quickly means it's now a Schrodinger's story: a lie that will never get halfway around the world or a truth that will never get its pants on. It changed none but the softest minds and just made everyone angrier in whatever direction they were already pointed.