CNN's Jerusalem Bureau Must Have Its Gaza Coverage Cleared By IDF Censors

CNN's Jeremy Diamond points toward Israeli military hardware in a field near Israel's border with Gaza. (Photo: screenshot/CNN) 

The Intercept: CNN Runs Gaza Coverage Past Jerusalem Team Operating Under Shadow of IDF Censor  

The Jerusalem bureau has long reviewed all CNN stories relating to Israel and Palestine. Now, it’s helping shape the network’s coverage of the war.  

Whether reporting from the Middle East, the United States, or anywhere else across the globe, every CNN journalist covering Israel and Palestine must submit their work for review by the news organization’s bureau in Jerusalem prior to publication, under a long-standing CNN policy. While CNN says the policy is meant to ensure accuracy in reporting on a polarizing subject, it means that much of the network’s recent coverage of the war in Gaza — and its reverberations around the world — has been shaped by journalists who operate under the shadow of the country’s military censor. 

Like all foreign news organizations operating in Israel, CNN’s Jerusalem bureau is subject to the rules of the Israel Defense Forces’s censor, which dictates subjects that are off-limits for news organizations to cover, and censors articles it deems unfit or unsafe to print. As The Intercept reported last month, the military censor recently restricted eight subjects, including security cabinet meetings, information about hostages, and reporting on weapons captured by fighters in Gaza. In order to obtain a press pass in Israel, foreign reporters must sign a document agreeing to abide by the dictates of the censor.  

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Update: CNN Admits 'Disturbing' Israel-Palestine Coverage Policy 'Has Been in Place for Years' (Common Dreams)  

WNU Editor: In past conflicts a network would always state if its coverage had to be cleared by censors. CNN is clearly not following that rule, and I suspect that they are not alone.