Mike Waltz marks Oct 7 anniversary at UN, says attack backfired on Iran
US Ambassador to the UN highlighted hostage stories and discussed Gaza's future framework.
AI-assisted coverage comparison, editor-supervised · How this was made
Screenshot 2026-10-06 at 1.58.13 PM.png
Photograph: News 4 San Antonio (embedded from source)
What this story says
- US Ambassador to the UN Mike Waltz spoke at an event marking the third anniversary of the October 7, 2023, attack on Israel.
- Waltz highlighted the experiences of former hostages Eliya Cohen and Ziv Abud, and Amit Abud, who died during the attack.
- The ambassador stated that the October 7 attack had backfired on Iran and its proxies.
- Television host Dr. Phil McGraw also spoke, discussing the psychological impact of the attack and the rise of antisemitism.
Who covered it
Percentages are shares of the 9 outlets carrying a published leaning rating. 1 of the 10 outlets we know ran this story carry no rating and are not counted in them. Coverage measured .
Trust
50/100
Craft
65/100
Hype
20/100
10 sources · methodology
Thin on the left so far
None of the 9 outlets with a published leaning rating that ran this story are rated left.
This story is still being watched, so it is a count and not yet a finding. Coverage keeps arriving for hours after an event, and a side that has published nothing this morning may publish by tonight. If it is still true when we stop checking, we will say so plainly.
U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Mike Waltz spoke at a commemoration event in New York marking the third anniversary of the October 7, 2023, attack on Israel. He honoured former hostages Eliya Cohen and Ziv Abud, and Amit Abud, who died during the attack. Waltz stated that the attack had backfired on Iran and its proxies. He also mentioned UN Security Council Resolution 2803 as a framework for Gaza's future.
Television host Dr. Phil McGraw also addressed the gathering. He spoke about the psychological toll of the attack on survivors and the rise of antisemitism. McGraw described the October 7 attack as the deadliest day for Jewish people since the Holocaust and a significant dividing line for Israelis and Jewish communities globally.
Disagreements in reporting
The reports agree that U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Mike Waltz spoke at a UN event commemorating the third anniversary of the October 7, 2023, attack on Israel, highlighting the stories of former hostages Eliya Cohen and Ziv Abud, and Amit Abud. They also agree that Dr. Phil McGraw addressed the gathering. However, only the full reports from News 4 San Antonio and CBS Austin attribute specific details about the hostages' experiences, such as Cohen resisting propaganda videos and Amit Abud dying while throwing back grenades, to Waltz. The digests do not contain these specific details.
What the coverage left out
None of the right-rated reports mention Dr. Phil McGraw's participation in the event or his remarks on the psychological toll of the attack and the rise of antisemitism. The left-rated outlets did not run this story at all.
Still developing. We have re-checked which outlets are covering this 4 times, most recently on 7 Oct 2026, 13:45, and will add the sides that appear.
How each side covered it
Our own reading of the reporting listed below, written from the outlets’ articles rather than quoted from them. The reasoning is set out on our methodology page.
Left
0 rated outlets
No outlet rated left has run this story so far. We are still checking, and will say plainly if that does not change.
Centre
3 rated outlets
- The centre-rated reports from News 4 San Antonio and CBS Austin, which provided full reports, led on U.S. Ambassador Mike Waltz's statement that the October 7 attack had backfired on Iran and its proxies. These reports detailed Waltz's comments on the return of hostages, including Eliya Cohen and Ziv Abud, and highlighted the story of Amit Abud. They also included Waltz's attribution of efforts to secure hostage returns and prevent future rearmament by Hamas to President Donald Trump, and his mention of UN Security Council Resolution 2803 as a framework for Gaza's future. Both reports also extensively covered Dr. Phil McGraw's remarks on the psychological toll of the attack and the rise of antisemitism, quoting him directly on the lasting effects of trauma and the need for support.
Right
6 rated outlets
- The right-rated reports, which were all digests, led on U.S. Ambassador Mike Waltz's statement that the October 7 attack had backfired on Iran and its proxies. These digests mentioned that Waltz highlighted the stories of former hostages Eliya Cohen and Ziv Abud at the UN commemoration. Some digests, such as VINnews, also noted Waltz's comments on the Abraham Accords growing. Arutz Sheva's digest included the phrase 'It can never be erased' in its headline, referencing the anniversary.
Questions about this coverage
- How did the left and right cover Mike Waltz marks Oct 7 anniversary at UN, says attack backfired on Iran?
- Of the 9 outlets on this story carrying a published leaning rating, 0% are rated left, 33% are rated centre, 67% are rated right. Those percentages are shares of the rated outlets, not of every outlet that ran it, which was 10. The sections above set out what each side emphasised, in its own terms.
- Is Mike Waltz marks Oct 7 anniversary at UN, says attack backfired on Iran left or right?
- Too few of the outlets on this story carry a published leaning rating to say. 9 of them do, and this site does not characterise a field under 12: at that size one newsroom filing moves the share by ten points. The percentages above are the count as it stands.
- Is the coverage of Mike Waltz marks Oct 7 anniversary at UN, says attack backfired on Iran biased?
- Mike Waltz marks Oct 7 anniversary at UN, says attack backfired on Iran is one event reported by 10 outlets, and this page does not rate the story as biased or unbiased. What it publishes is the spread: which outlets ran it, where named rating organisations place each of them on the spectrum, and what each side chose to lead with. A leaning rating describes an outlet's record over time, not this article, and the two should not be run together.
- Which side is not reporting Mike Waltz marks Oct 7 anniversary at UN, says attack backfired on Iran?
- When we first saw this story, outlets rated left had barely covered it. Coverage accretes for hours after an event, so that is where to look rather than a verdict — the split above is the current count, and it is the one to read.
- Which outlets covered Mike Waltz marks Oct 7 anniversary at UN, says attack backfired on Iran?
- 10 that we know of, every one of them listed further up this page with a link to its own report and to what we hold on the publisher. Nothing here is a summary of somebody else's summary: the outlets are named so the original reporting can be read.
- What was the event commemorating?
- The event was a commemoration held at the United Nations headquarters in New York marking the third anniversary of the October 7, 2023, attack on Israel. U.S. Ambassador to the UN Mike Waltz spoke at the event.
- Who spoke at the commemoration besides Mike Waltz?
- Television host Dr. Phil McGraw also addressed the gathering. He spoke about the lasting psychological toll of the attack on survivors and the rise of antisemitism, calling the October 7 attack the deadliest day for Jewish people since the Holocaust.
- What did Mike Waltz say about the October 7 attack?
- Ambassador Mike Waltz stated that the October 7 attack had 'completely, and I think irreversibly has backfired' on Iran and its proxies. He also highlighted the stories of former hostages and survivors.
Read it at the source
10 outlets, grouped by the leaning a published rating gives them. Every headline links to the original; an underlined outlet name opens our profile of that publisher.
Left
0No outlet in this group ran the story.
Centre
3- At UN's October 7th Commemoration, U.S.'s Waltz says attack on Israel 'backfired on Iran' (opens Fox 25 Oklahoma City in a new tab)
Fox 25 Oklahoma City — is Fox 25 Oklahoma City biased? Our profile of this outlet
- At UN's October 7th Commemoration, U.S.'s Waltz says attack on Israel 'backfired on Iran' (opens CBS Austin in a new tab)
CBS Austin — is CBS Austin biased? Our profile of this outlet
- At UN's October 7th Commemoration, U.S.'s Waltz says attack on Israel 'backfired on Iran' (opens News 4 San Antonio in a new tab)
News 4 San Antonio — is News 4 San Antonio biased? Our profile of this outlet
Right
6- 'It can never be erased': Israel marks October 7 anniversary at the UN (opens Arutz Sheva in a new tab)
Arutz Sheva — is Arutz Sheva biased? Our profile of this outlet
- Waltz Tells U.N. Oct. 7 Commemoration That Attack Backfired, Abraham Accords Are Growing (opens VINnews in a new tab)
- At UN's October 7th Commemoration, U.S.'s Waltz says attack on Israel 'backfired on Iran' (opens WBFF in a new tab)
- At UN's October 7th Commemoration, U.S.'s Waltz says attack on Israel 'backfired on Iran' (opens My NBC 15 in a new tab)
- At UN's October 7th Commemoration, U.S.'s Waltz says attack on Israel 'backfired on Iran' (opens KRNV in a new tab)
- At UN's October 7th Commemoration, U.S.'s Waltz says attack on Israel 'backfired on Iran' (opens WPDE in a new tab)
Not rated
1How did this read?
About the coverage, not about the story. We do not ask whether you agree with what happened — we have no honest use for that answer.
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