Canadian photojournalist Valérie Zink, who worked as a freelancer for Reuters for eight years, announced on Tuesday 26 August that she had resigned from her job in protest against what she described as the agency’s “collusion and justification” of Israel’s genocide and crimes committed against journalists in Gaza.

This symbolic move included tearing up her press card for the agency, expressing her deep sense of “shame and sadness” at continuing to carry it.

Valérie Zink: “shame and sadness”

Valérie Zink attributed her decision to Reuters‘ coverage of Israeli talking points and its repetition of the Israeli narrative without verification, especially in cases of targeting journalists.

Among the prominent cases, she mentioned Anas al-Sharif, a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist who was killed in cold blood after the agency published, according to Zink, baseless Israeli allegations that he was a “Hamas agent,” without clarifying or defending him despite his presence on a “public assassination list” (despite his repeated appeals for international protection).

Zink also condemned the coverage of the death of her colleague, photographer Hossam al-Masri, who was killed in a double-tap bombing that targeted Nasser Hospital—a strike that targeted doctors, paramedics, and journalists twice, constituting a double humanitarian and media tragedy.

In her statement, Valérie Zink said:

I can no longer carry my Reuters card without a deep sense of shame and sadness. I will dedicate my honor and my future work to honoring my colleagues in Gaza, the bravest and greatest in the history of journalism.

She added that the silence—or rather, the complicity of major media outlets such as the New York Times, the Washington Post, and Reuters—in repeating the Israeli narrative without verification made them partners in:

covering up crimes, justifying genocide, and creating conditions for the targeting of journalists.

Some reports indicate that the number of journalists killed in Gaza has exceeded 246 since the start of Israel’s genocide in October 2023, making the media sector the most affected in the history of modern conflicts.

Silence is complicity

Valerie Zink’s resignation represents a resounding cry from within one of the world’s largest media organizations, highlighting the tragedy of journalism in Gaza, where hundreds have paid with their lives for the truth. Meanwhile, major agencies continue to adopt the Israeli narrative without question.

Zink’s move serves as a reminder that silence is complicity, and that professional ethics are inseparable from the honor of defending colleagues who were killed simply because they carried a camera and a pen in the face of war.

Featured image via screengrab