From Journalists, To Journalists: Stop Helping Israel Cover Up The Killing Of Our Colleagues
Every time unverified military claims are repeated without scrutiny, every time context is stripped away, every time power is left unnamed, the press becomes a participant in oppression rather than a check on it.
On Aug. 10, 2025, Al Jazeera correspondent Anas al-Sharif was assassinated in Gaza by the Israeli military.
The Israeli military had been threatening him in public for over a year. They smeared him after he cried on air reporting on famine. They claimed to have “evidence” that no one has ever independently verified. And then they killed him along with four other journalists in a strike on a tent clearly marked for the press.
We all saw it coming. The Committee to Protect Journalists warned weeks ago that Israel’s smear campaign was a precursor to his assassination. Journalists in Gaza feared his name would be next. And when it happened, too many newsrooms still led their headlines with Israel’s lie.
This is not a tragedy in "the fog of war"
It is a deliberate strategy:
- Threaten the journalist.
- Smear them as a militant.
- Kill them.
- Feed the smear to the international press, which repeats it uncritically.
More than 186 Palestinian journalists have been killed since October 2023. Many were targeted after the same sequence of public threats and unverified allegations.
The media’s hands are dirty
When Reuters runs “Israel kills Al Jazeera journalist it says was Hamas leader” as a headline, it is laundering the smear.
When The New York Times details Israel’s “documents” before mentioning they are unverified, it is giving propaganda more weight than fact.
When CNN quotes “unequivocal proof” and “many documents” without a single line about the lack of verification, it is doing the work of the military that just killed the journalist.
This is not “balance.” It is collaboration.
Press freedom statements have been pathetic
We’ve seen leaders of the profession respond with phrases like “saddened and deeply troubled” and calls for “all parties” to protect journalists.
This is the language of people who want to look concerned without naming the killer. It is PR for impunity.
Our demands
We demand that all publishers, newsrooms, editors, and press freedom organisations covering Israel–Palestine commit to:
- Stop amplifying unverified state claims. Do not publish or headline unverified allegations from any party to the conflict, especially the Israeli military, without clear labeling and immediate context on the source’s record of false or misleading statements.
- Lead with truth, not state framing. Headlines, ledes, and social media posts must prioritise verifiable facts and context over military or government narratives.
- Name power and responsibility. Avoid “both sides” language that obscures power asymmetry. When it is clear who carried out an action, name them.
- Embed context as a standard. Coverage must consistently include the structural realities: genocide, occupation, blockade, apartheid, and the humanitarian impacts, not just event-by-event updates.
- Publish your editorial policies on Israel–Palestine. Make sourcing, verification, and style guide rules public so audiences can hold you accountable.
- Correct the record publicly. When a claim you have published is debunked, remains unverified, or is changed after public criticism, update stories and headlines prominently and add an editor’s note explaining why it was changed. Acknowledge the harm caused by the initial publication, whether that harm is to the public’s understanding, to the reputation of those falsely accused, or to the integrity of the outlet. Quiet edits are not accountability; they are cover-ups.
This is not just about Anas. His killing is the clearest, latest proof of a broken system, one in which Palestinian lives and voices are routinely devalued, misrepresented, or erased in global mainstream media. It is the same system that has normalised a military occupation for decades, softened the language of apartheid, and buried the reality of siege and famine under euphemism and “both sides” framing.
The way the world understands Israel–Palestine is shaped by the stories that are told and the ones that are silenced. Every time unverified military claims are repeated without scrutiny, every time context is stripped away, every time power is left unnamed, the press becomes a participant in oppression rather than a check on it.
Our colleagues warned in 2021 that this industry’s coverage of Palestine was failing its own standards. In 2025, the cost of that failure is measured in tens of thousands of Palestinian deaths, the targeting of journalists, and a global public left misinformed about the reality on the ground.
This must end. Not with another vague statement. Not with another “tragic loss.” But with a radical change in how this story is told, because without that, the next killing will already have been written.
If you’re a current or former journalist and would like to sign this letter, please fill out the form below.
Signed,
Kassy Cho — Journalist, Founder & Editor-in-Chief, Almost
Sanne Breimer — Media Strategist & Founder of Inclusive Journalism
And our colleagues in journalism worldwide:
Ankita Anand – Independent Journalist, Freelance
Devi Asmarani – Editor-in-Chief, Magdalene.co
Wulan Bekker – Journalist, BNNVARA
Arnoud Bodde – Journalist, Freelance
Manuela Callari – Independent Journalist, Freelance
Camillo Cantarano – Reporter, Independent
Sudeshna Chanda – Writer, Product Thinker, Freelance
Flavie Chen – Editorial & Partnerships Strategist, Almost
Ricardo Esteves Ribeiro – Journalist Fumaça
Andrew Fisher – Writer & Columnist, Freelance
Coco Gubbels – Founder, Project Management in Investigative Journalism
Junye Lin – Chinese Editor, Almost
Pei Ying Loh – Head & Co-Founder, Kontinentalist
Amir Behnam Masoumi – Journalist, Freelance
Cherry Mohamed – Senior Reporter & Producer, Almost
Onesy Muller – Radiopresenter, Podcaster and Columnist, Bonte Was Podcast
Shafi Musaddique – Journalist, Freelance
Analie Gepulani Neiteler – Digital Editor & Producer, Freelance
Yan Naung Oak – Founder, Thibi
Laura Oliver – Journalist, Freelance
Zoë Papaikonomou – Investigative Journalist, Freelance
Jaff Sham – Journalist, whathappenedlastweek.com
Signature count: 24
