Key Takeaways:
- The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) removed 19 terrorists and three fake journalists from its database of slain Gazan journalists, but reinstated four individuals.
- Of the 191 Gazan journalists on CPJ’s list, 102 were found in a preliminary audit to have connections to terrorist groups.
- CPJ continues to include members of the non-military wings of terrorist groups on its list, and has failed to issue an apology for spreading disinformation.
The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) published an internal audit of its slain Gazan journalist database on Thursday. But a preliminary audit by HonestReporting found more than half of those who remain were individuals with ties to terrorist organizations.
Although the CPJ review removed almost two dozen individuals who participated in combat during the war that began on October 7, 2023, 53 percent of those still listed have terrorist ties, with CPJ failing to remove identified terrorists and even reinstating some to the database. The updated list also fails to meet CPJ’s new criteria for inclusion as a journalist, while broader methodological issues remain.
READ THE FULL PRELIMINARY AUDIT HERE.
CPJ’s Previous Failures
On June 25, CPJ announced that it would be conducting a review of its database of 224 names after terrorist organizations published numerous obituaries confirming the affiliations of individuals on the list. CPJ said the audit was expected to be completed by July, but the process was still unfinished by the time HonestReporting published its own audit in August.
The HonestReporting audit found that 120 of the 209 Gazan media workers, or 57 percent, had terrorist ties. Among them, 25 had martyr posters issued by terrorist organizations or affiliated groups, often identifying details such as their units and roles. 18 had been identified by the IDF as terrorists and were reportedly targeted by the Israeli military because of their roles within those organizations. 13 were identified as combatants through eulogies, family statements, documents, and other open-source information. A total of 61 worked for media outlets affiliated with or controlled by terrorist organizations.
By mid-September, however, even the August audit was already becoming outdated, as Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad continued to publish martyr notices identifying additional individuals on CPJ’s list as operatives. By Thursday, the number of CPJ-listed individuals for whom such notices had been published had risen to 30.
An Updated Database That Retains Terrorists
CPJ announced the results of its audit on Thursday, reducing its list of Gazan journalists killed in the war to 191. 22 individuals were removed: 19 for participating in hostilities and three for failing to meet CPJ’s definition of a journalist. That followed earlier removals of eight individuals for participating in hostilities and seven for failing to meet the journalist definition.
All 19 combatants had already been documented in HonestReporting’s audit, as had Ahmed Al-Qara, whom CPJ removed on the grounds that he did not meet its definition of a journalist. The CPJ did not acknowledge the several online eulogies and Hamas-affiliated Telegram channels that identified Al-Qara as a “mujahid.”
What’s more, four Palestinian journalists were also reinstated to the list, including two with terrorist connections. Assad Shamlakh was confirmed by Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) to be a member of its Gaza Brigade’s Al-Sabra and Tel Al-Hawa Battalion. Mohamed Khaireddine worked for the Hamas controlled and U.S. Treasury sanctioned outlet Al-Aqsa TV. Khaireddine was reportedly killed in the same strike as his brother, fellow CPJ-listed journalist Ahmed Khaireddine, who was described as a commander and mujahid in online eulogies, and was seen in PIJ videos alongside senior PIJ officials.
Other terrorists that remained on the list were simply shuffled around between the classifications “media worker” and “journalist,” such as Ibrahim Sheikh Ali, a platoon commander in the Central Brigade of PIJ’s Al-Quds Brigades. Ahmed Abu Mhadi was also reviewed without being removed, despite being a fighter in the Northern Brigade of Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades.
HonestReporting Preliminary Audit
Of the 191 people remaining on the list, 102 have terrorist ties, including 13 with martyr notices. Another 18 were identified as terrorists by the IDF, 10 by open-source information such as social media statements by family, and 59 worked for terrorist-affiliated news outlets. Another two were associated with news outlets whose links to terrorist organizations are disputed.
Some of those still on the list had martyr posters issued after an internal and external audit period that ended on August 17, though CPJ also removed the name of a terrorist following the publication of new information on August 28. Only two terrorists had martyr posters issued after August 28. PIJ operative Ahmed Abu Skheil had been confirmed by the Al-Quds Brigades as a fighter in its Gaza Brigade only by August 21, but there was already extensive open-source intelligence made public that indicated he was a combatant. Shamlakh was announced as a terrorist by his organization on August 14, within the audit period.
CPJ’s decision to retain certain individuals is particularly difficult to reconcile with its newly updated criteria. Following internal deliberations, CPJ determined that members of military media units should be considered combatants, and amended its methodology to state that “CPJ considers individuals to be engaging in combat if they have active membership in the military or a militant wing of a state or non-state actor, or if they engage in acts of violence.”
Yet CPJ appears not to have applied that standard consistently. It retained PIJ Central Military Media Unit members Mohammad Abu Sharia and Mohamed Jamal Sobhi Al-Thalathini, despite notices published on July 16 and August 14, respectively, identifying them as members of the organization.
More significantly, following a July 1 decision by CPJ’s Board of Directors to “include journalists working for state-backed media and those working with media organizations affiliated with militant groups,” CPJ CEO Jodie Ginsberg said on Thursday that determinations had not been made based on “an individual’s affiliation.”
In practice, that means individuals can remain classified as journalists even if they belong to a terrorist organization, provided they are not considered members of its military wing or otherwise engaged in combat.
Refusal to Take Responsibility for Mistakes
CPJ’s auditor recommendations do not propose any larger methodological overhaul beyond excluding members of military media units, nor does CPJ offer any meaningful self-criticism for having included and retained individuals with terrorist affiliations in its database.
And yet CPJ’s figures have been repeatedly cited by major news organizations since the start of the war in Gaza, often alongside claims that Israel deliberately targeted journalists. CPJ was cited 91 times in coverage relating to the 120 individuals HonestReporting identified as having terrorist ties.
By CPJ’s own admission, more than two dozen individuals it now accepts should not have been counted remained on its list for months, and in some cases years. Those figures helped shape international coverage of one of the war’s most contentious narratives. Yet there has been no corresponding wave of corrections from the outlets that relied on them, and no public apology from CPJ.
READ THE FULL PRELIMINARY AUDIT HERE.
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© Divuach Ne’eman R”A, 2025
