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, according to a report by The Intercept.
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 conflict 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’ censor, which dictates subjects that are off-limits for news organizations to cover, and censors articles it deems unfit or unsafe to print.
On top of the official and unspoken rules for reporting from Israel, CNN recently issued directives to its staff on specific language to use and avoid when reporting on violence in the Gaza Strip.
The network also hired a former soldier from the IDF’s Military Spokesperson Unit to serve as a reporter at the onset of the conflict.
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