Overview
- CPJ announced a full review after removing 20 names from its Gaza casualties page and said on June 25 that its public tally stood at 209 journalists and media workers killed since October 7, 2023.
- The organisation said eight of the removed names were confirmed as members of Hamas or Palestinian Islamic Jihad and 12 were dropped for reasons such as misidentification, survival reports, or not being active as media workers when they died.
- CPJ defends its method of using at least two independent sources to classify someone as a journalist and says it excludes anyone for whom there is evidence of direct participation in hostilities or incitement.
- The audit was triggered after Hamas and PIJ published obituaries identifying some individuals as fighters, and it comes as verification inside Gaza has been limited because international reporters and independent investigators have lacked access.
- The review has produced a public internal dispute after board member Nika Soon-Shiong raised concerns about scope and possible redefinition of who counts as a journalist, and external analysts have pressed CPJ for greater transparency and possible methodological changes with results due in July.