CNN Staffers Reportedly Irate With the Network’s ‘Systemic and Institutional’ Bias Toward Israel

Photo by Jaap Arriens/NurPhoto via AP

CNN staffers are reportedly upset with the network’s coverage of the Israel-Hamas war, with some calling the journalism “skewed by a systemic and institutional bias.”

According to new reporting by The Guardian, the general feeling is that CNN’s coverage “repeats Israeli propaganda and often skews pro-Israel.”

The publication spoke to several staffers in CNN’s U.S. and overseas newsrooms, with one saying, “The majority of news since the war began, regardless of how accurate the initial reporting, has been skewed by a systemic and institutional bias within the network toward Israel. Ultimately, CNN’s coverage of the Israel-Gaza war amounts to journalistic malpractice.”

The Guardian’s Chris McGreal reported:

According to accounts from six CNN staffers in multiple newsrooms, and more than a dozen internal memos and emails obtained by the Guardian, daily news decisions are shaped by a flow of directives from the CNN headquarters in Atlanta that have set strict guidelines on coverage.

They include tight restrictions on quoting Hamas and reporting other Palestinian perspectives while Israel government statements are taken at face value. In addition, every story on the conflict must be cleared by the Jerusalem bureau before broadcast or publication.

The network’s new editor-in-chief and CEO, Mark Thompson, is said to be in charge of setting “the tone” of news coverage at CNN. He began work just two days after the Oct. 7 Hamas attack. At his first editorial meeting, Thompson reportedly called CNN’s coverage of the war “basically great.”

One staffer told The Guardian that “some people are looking to get out” due to all of the internal strife and dissent in the newsrooms.

A CNN spokesperson issued the following statement:

We fundamentally reject the notion that our coverage of the aftermath of the October 7th attacks has been anything other than fair. We have vigorously pursued voices from Gaza and the Palestinian perspective, in addition to Israeli voices, throughout the last four months, including from Hamas. Our internal processes reflect our commitment to accuracy alone, and we have led industry-wide calls for access to Gaza to report from inside the enclave. We remain absolutely committed to reporting all sides of this immensely challenging, complex and emotive story.

Read The Guardian article here.