Fisk was known for his criticism of the foreign policy of the United States, particularly their involvement in the wars in Afghanistan and the Middle East. He was consistently critical of Israel, labelling some of the country's actions against Palestinians as "war crimes". One of his beliefs was that he should report events from the point of view of the victim rather than those in authority. "The Times" newspaper, in its November 2020 obituary of Fisk, said that he had developed a "visceral dislike of the Israeli government and its allies" following his coverage of the Sabra and Shatila massacre, alleging that this had made Fisk biased and "unable to provide a dispassionate account of events and their context". David Pryce-Jones, writing in "The Spectator" in 2003, said that Fisk was guilty of "hysteria and distortion" in his coverage of Middle Eastern topics. "The Independent", for whom he wrote between 1989 and his death, praised him as being "renowned for his courage in questioning official narratives from governments".