- 34 Americans died in the 1967 attack on the USS Liberty. Survivors have spent decades demanding answers.
- In June 2025, they held a memorial in Norfolk, Virginia — and were smeared as extremists by WTKR News 3.
- WTKR based its coverage on a viral tweet, no first hand reporting, and a single fearful local.
- The station ignored declassified evidence and eyewitness testimony, despite being provided with both.
- It even appeared to misrepresent a veteran’s on-camera statement to fit the station’s narrative.
- Meanwhile, actual threats came from those opposing the event — not its guests.
- This report breaks down exactly what WTKR got wrong, with sources and receipts.
By If Americans Knew Staff
Media Misconduct: WTKR’s USS Liberty Coverage
Rather than report on the Liberty reunion as a memorial event honoring 34 fallen American sailors, WTKR chose to largely center its coverage on a manufactured controversy over one invited speaker – effectively reducing a solemn 58th anniversary to a clickbait spectacle.
On June 7–8, 2025, survivors of the USS Liberty gathered in Norfolk, Virginia, for the 58th anniversary of one of the most deadly and controversial attacks on U.S. servicemen in history.
The Liberty – a U.S. Navy intelligence ship – was attacked by Israeli forces in 1967, killing 34 Americans and wounding 174. Despite decades of survivor testimony and declassified evidence challenging the official narrative of “mistaken identity,” the attack has never been formally investigated by Congress.
This year, the veterans and their families were once again betrayed – not by hostile fire, but by a local news station. WTKR News 3 chose not to cover the memorial as a solemn gathering of U.S. service members, but instead often framed it as a meeting of extremists – citing a tweet by the activist group StopAntisemitism, which labeled the event a “Nazi reunion.”
The post, which featured a modified flyer with the photos of three controversial online personalities, sparked an online firestorm and led to one speaker being banned from the hotel, with the other two individuals canceling their plans to attend. WTKR ran with the story – leaning on fear-stoking quotes from a local resident with no direct ties to the event and repeating claims that “no evidence” exists that the 1967 attack was deliberate.
Behind the scenes, the fallout was worse. Event organizers and their families received death threats, and the veterans’ association was reportedly forced to pay over $15,000 for added police presence – despite the city already being heavily staffed for Harbor Fest just blocks away – and another $5,000 for help after hotel workers reportedly refused to show up out of fear.
For nearly 60 years, the survivors of the USS Liberty have been ignored, silenced, and slandered for speaking out. This time, the silencing came not from foreign governments, but from the very institutions that claim to support veterans and protect free speech.
One-Sided Coverage and Dismissal of Evidence
Between May and June 2025, WTKR published at least five articles, each to varying degrees emphasizing the same narrative: that the Liberty Veterans Association (LVA) had platformed controversial figures, and that public backlash was seemingly justified. Worse, WTKR claimed that there was “no evidence” that the Israeli attack was intentional, despite the abundance of such evidence.
Nowhere in these stories did WTKR seriously engage with the central issue that defines the USS Liberty story: the decades-long suppression of survivor testimony and the growing body of declassified evidence contradicting Israel’s claim of mistaken identity.
When IAK staff contacted WTKR after their initial story aired claiming that there was “no evidence”, we provided a curated list of original sources – including sworn testimony, declassified U.S. documents, and statements from high-ranking military officials. The editor replied that he didn’t know who we were, and therefore could not cite us.
Our follow-up clarified that none of the material originated from IAK, and all sources were either official U.S. government documents or sworn statements from Navy leadership. Among the items we submitted were:
- The sworn affidavit of Captain Ward Boston, the Navy lawyer on the original investigation, who revealed that they had been ordered to cover up the fact. In his words, “The evidence was clear. Both Admiral Kidd and I believed with certainty that this attack, which killed 34 American sailors and injured 172 others, was a deliberate effort to sink an American ship and murder its entire crew.”
- A declassified Department of Defense memo showing Israeli pilots positively identified the Liberty before the attack.
- Public statements from former chairmen of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, CIA officials, and Navy admirals, all expressing doubt over the “mistaken identity” explanation.
We received no further reply. Instead, WTKR proceeded to publish additional stories that doubled down on its earlier framing — repeating verbatim that “there is no evidence” the attack was deliberate. The only source they cited for this claim was a brief, unsigned entry on the Naval History and Heritage Command website, which itself makes no reference to the vast library of contradictory evidence now in the public domain.
In one article, WTKR goes so far as to say, “the Liberty Veterans Association and others continue to believe it was intentional,” implying that the only people who question the official story are a small group of emotional outliers. They fail to mention that these “others” include former NSA and CIA directors, U.S. Navy admirals, and the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
Patterns of Misconduct in WTKR’s Reporting
1. Inflammatory Framing and Guilt-by-Association
WTKR repeatedly linked unrelated stories of antisemitic violence to the Liberty reunion, including embedding video clips about separate incidents. These “related” references served no journalistic purpose beyond amplifying fear and guilt-by-association. At no point did the Liberty Veterans Association, its members, or any invited guests issue threats of violence – yet the articles create a persistent atmosphere of suspicion.
2. Repeating the ‘No Evidence’ Claim Without Context
Virtually every article includes the phrase:
“There is no evidence the attack was deliberate,”
often without citing a source – or relying solely on a brief statement from the Naval History and Heritage Command website, ignoring contradictory information from the U.S. Naval Institute, Stars and Stripes, the Congressional Record, and other sources. In some cases, this assertion immediately follows a cursory mention of the 1967 attack, as if to preemptively discredit any deeper inquiry.
This blanket dismissal not only contradicts decades of public testimony by survivors, but also ignores the declassified documents and expert analysis provided directly to WTKR.
In an attempt to clarify the Navy’s position, we reached out to the Naval History and Heritage Command – and followed up directly with its director, Rear Admiral Samuel Cox (Ret.) – to ask whether the “no evidence” language still reflects the Navy’s current understanding. We received no response.
3. Over-Reliance on One Unverified Source
WTKR repeatedly amplified vague accusations of “hate” and “violence” surrounding the Liberty reunion, yet never offered specific evidence.
Multiple articles quote Erik Leach, a local resident and graphic designer, expressing alarm over potential violence from the reunion’s invited guests or their “supporters.” Leach – identified only as a local resident – provides no evidence, cites no specific threats, and is never challenged on his assumptions. Instead, WTKR allows his speculative fear to frame the entire event as dangerous. WTKR never reveals how they chose this one individual to comment on the event.
Meanwhile, the only actual threats of violence came from individuals who opposed the event – targeting Liberty Veterans Association organizers Moe Shafer and Phil Tourney with harassing messages and intimidation. These threats did not come from the invited speakers or their followers. The same online smear campaign reportedly resulted in one speaker’s co-host being fired from his job and both being ejected from their recording studio.
WTKR never attended the event or attempted to verify whether any alleged “hate speech” occurred. Instead, the outlet built its narrative almost entirely on anonymous accusations, hearsay, and secondhand outrage, creating a story driven by fear rather than fact.
4. Deceptive Editing of Veteran Testimony
In one video, WTKR shows Executive Director Moe Shafer stating:
“They’ve destroyed my personal life. They destroyed my wife’s life. They’ve destroyed several other shipmates’ lives…”
The clip is placed immediately after commentary about the speaker controversy, creating the false impression that Shafer was criticizing his own invited guests.
However, Shafer later clarified:
“No, I was not referring to speakers. I was talking about the threats from the outside.”
If intentional, this constitutes a distortion of the record to support a pre-existing narrative, crossing the line from biased journalism to outright misinformation.
5. Omissions That Undermine the Full Story
WTKR briefly acknowledged – in one article – that there had been no violence. But they failed to mention that:
- The LVA was charged $15,000 for additional police presence due to fear among hotel staff; and an addition $5,000 to replace hotel workers intimidated against being present;
- Police were already heavily present in the area due to Norfolk’s Harbor Fest, raising questions about the necessity and justification for billing the LVA;
- And most critically: the Liberty crew and their advocates were the only ones facing threats.
WTKR’s editorial choices shaped the public’s perception of the memorial as a dangerous, fringe gathering – when in reality, it was a peaceful event honoring fallen U.S. sailors. Instead of covering the long-neglected story of the Liberty with integrity and nuance, WTKR chose sensationalism, omission, and misrepresentation – betraying the very veterans whose voices have been silenced for nearly 60 years.
RELATED:
- The USS Liberty | If Americans Knew
- Justice for Liberty
- USS Liberty Veterans Association
- A Cover-Up? Survivors of Israel’s Attack on US Ship Still Waiting for Answers 58 Years Later
- Deadly USS Liberty Attack Records Remain Secret – For Now
- From USS Liberty to Rachel Corrie: Israel’s Attacks on U.S. You Probably Didn’t Know About
