CNN Faces Staff Backlash Over Alleged Pro-Israel Bias

Facts

• At least six CNN journalists have criticized the network for having a 'systemic and institutional bias' toward Israel, according to a report published by The Guardian citing alleged internal emails and memos.¹
• Emails obtained by The Guardian suggest that prejudiced management directives initiated from the CNN headquarters in Atlanta determined daily news decisions and the story-approval process.²
• The alleged guidelines on the Israel-Gaza conflict coverage include strict restrictions on quoting Palestinians as well as requiring stories to be cleared by CNN's Jerusalem bureau before broadcast or publication.³
• CNN's Jerusalem bureau is also subject to speech regulations enforced by the Israel Defense Forces' censor, which restricts reporting on subjects it deems too sensitive to publish.⁴
• The CNN insiders claimed that CEO Mark Thompson, who assumed the role two days after the Oct. 7 attacks, had instructed reporters to remind the network's audience of the 'immediate cause of this current conflict,' including Hamas's 'mass murder and kidnap of civilians.'⁵
• CNN faced similar allegations of bias in the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks when the network's then-CEO, Walter Isaacson, reportedly ordered reporters to balance coverage of Afghan civilians' killings at the hands of US forces with disclaimers on the Taliban's connections to al-Qaeda.¹

Sources: ¹Guardian, ²Tehran Times, ³Middle East Eye, ⁴Intercept and ⁵New York Post.

Narratives

• Pro-Palestine narrative, as provided by Intercept. The extreme bias seen in CNN's coverage of the Israel-Hamas war amounts to journalistic malpractice. The network is only telling one side of the story and downplaying information that threatens the Israeli government's narrative. This irresponsible coverage has effectively dehumanized the Palestinian people in the eyes of CNN's viewers and minimized Israeli culpability for destruction and violence in the Gaza Strip.
• Pro-Israel narrative, as provided by Jerusalem Post. It is Israel that must cope with an untenable level of bias from the mainstream media in this conflict. Take, for example, the allegations that journalists associated with CNN and other outlets even joined Hamas on Oct. 7 to document the atrocities. Accordingly, it is fully reasonable that Israel maintains a robust public information process to ensure that balanced reporting occurs that does not endanger Israeli security.
• Cynical narrative, as provided by Media@LSE. Both the Israeli and Palestinian sides of this conflict claim that the media is biased against them. Moreover, the sheer level of polarization seen in this conflict has created a media environment so polluted that one's politics completely dictate their perception of the facts. The media must be able to provide a platform for dialogue and understanding wholly missing from the current coverage of this conflict.