MSNBC apologized Monday for airing graphics and analyses last week that portrayed Israel as stealing land from Palestinians.
The maps, dubbed inaccurate and misleading by experts, depicted Israel as stealing the majority of its land from Palestinians. One map resembled anti-Israel propaganda disseminated by a conspiracy group that is widely considered anti-Semitic.
"Last Thursday, in an attempt to talk about the context for the current turmoil in the Middle East, we showed a series of maps of the changing geography in that region. We realized after we went off the air that the maps were not factually accurate and we regret using them," said MSNBC broadcaster Kate Snow.
After they aired, the graphics were condemned by pro-Israel advocates and anti-Semitism watchdog groups, according to a report by the Washington Free Beacon. MSNBC broadcaster Martin Fletcher also rejected the maps, saying that they were "dead wrong."
In the apology broadcast, Fletcher added that he regretted not immediately calling out the error.
"I wish I'd said it right away when I saw them," he said.
He elaborated on the misleading nature of the maps, saying that they gave the impression that there was a state called Palestine in 1946 that was "full of Arabs."
"The bottom line is that it was completely wrong. There was no state called Palestine. In 1946 it was a British mandate. Britain was given control of the area by the League of Nations, and as a matter of fact, roughly in that area, there were about half a million Jews living there and about a million Arabs. So if anything, the map should have reflected that demographic reality, and it didn't. It gave the wrong impression," he said.
MSNBC also garnered criticism last week after MSNBC foreign correspondent Ayman Mohyeldin said that a Palestinian terrorist who charged Israeli officers and was shot dead "did not have a knife." Mohyeldin was corrected on air by MSNBC anchor José Díaz-Balart.