MSNBC Canceling Mehdi Hasan's Show Raises Eyebrows

Social media users are speculating whether MSNBC's decision to cancel Mehdi Hasan's show was politically motivated or not as the journalist has been highly critical of Israel and raised concerns about the treatment of Palestinians.

On October 7, Hamas led the deadliest Palestinian militant attack on Israel in history. Israel subsequently launched its heaviest-ever airstrikes on Gaza. Israeli officials have said that 1,200 people in Israel were killed in Hamas' attack, according to the Associated Press, while over 13,300 Palestinians have been killed, officials from the health ministry in Gaza said, the AP reported. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said his country is "at war" and has cut off supplies of food, fuel, electricity and medicine to Gaza.

Following the surprise attack, Hasan posted on X, formerly Twitter, on October 7, "Hostage-taking of civilians is a war crime. What we're witnessing in the Middle East right now are multiple war crimes. Some of us condemn war crimes there, regardless of whether the perpetrators are Israeli or Palestinian. Some only condemn war crimes by Palestinians."

Hasan also got into a tiff with Israeli adviser Mark Regev while he was on The Mehdi Hasan Show on November 16. Hasan was talking about the Palestinian death toll in Gaza and cited the number of deaths to the Gaza Health Ministry. Regev interrupted Hasan: "You have to say the Hamas-controlled Ministry of Health in Gaza."

MSNBC privately announced the cancelation of the Sunday night opinion show to staff on Thursday morning. Hasan will remain with MSNBC as an on-camera analyst and fill-in host, two people familiar with the matter told Semafor. MSNBC President Rashida Jones told staff in a note that the changes were made "to better position ourselves as we head into the presidential election," according to The Hill.

Newsweek reached out to MSNBC via email for comment.

People on social media speculated if Hasan's views on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict were a factor in MSNBC's decision to pull the plug on Hasan's show.

X user @JoshuaPHilll posted the news about Hasan's show cancelation, writing: "Mehdi has been outspoken about the crimes Israel is committing in Palestine, and about how Muslim and Arab voters in the U.S. are disillusioned with Biden."

Another X user, Asad Ali Ramay, replied to @JoshuaPHilll, "Obviously, they can't tolerate anyone speaking out against the genocide they're attempting to conceal."

X user Ro Khanna wrote: "It is bad optics for MSNBC to cancel @mehdirhasan's show right at a time when he is vocal for human rights in Gaza with the war ongoing. As a strong supporter of free speech, MSNBC owes the public an explanation for this decision. Why would they choose to do this now?"

However, others thought the show's cancelation had more to do with its ratings.

X user @red_barchetta2 replied to Khanna's post, "Probably because his ratings sucked." Another X user Abe Froman said that the show was canceled because "his ratings blew." Newsweek could not independently verify Hasan's show ratings.

Meanwhile, some people on social media spoke to the value of Hasan's journalism.

Cenk Uygur, host of The Young Turks and Democratic presidential candidate, wrote on X: "MSNBC canceled Mehdi Hasan's show. Because, of course, they did. It's not just because he treats Muslims as real human beings, it's also because he actually challenges his guests. And that is the biggest heresy in mainstream media. Access must be protected!"

Human rights attorney Noura Erakat also spoke out against the show's cancelation. She wrote on X, "@msnbc make this make sense.@mehdirhasan's program has felt like an oasis on air and more needed than ever. His program w Mark Regev was a whole class on journalistic method. He should be amplified,not shut down."