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Amid Ta-Nehisi Coates and Israel Scandals, CBS News Is Facing a Crisis of Its Own Making
Ta-Nehisi Coates. Photo: Wiki Commons.
Something is deeply wrong within the CBS News newsroom.
In recent months, several concerning incidents have emerged, revealing a serious issue within the editorial department of one of America’s largest news networks. These events point to an editorial team that appears to have been co-opted by activist-cum-journalists, where political biases have overtaken the network’s foundational commitment to accurate and impartial reporting. Equally troubling is the apparent abdication of oversight by editorial management, allowing journalistic standards to erode further.
CBS’ issues are most evident in a series of separate incidents related to the current Israel-Hamas war. These examples highlight that the infiltration of ideological motivations into the newsroom is not a new phenomenon, but rather a longstanding issue that has now become glaringly apparent.
CBS Producer’s Terrorist Links Revealed
An HonestReporting exposé in July revealed that a longtime CBS producer, Marwan al-Ghoul, who directs coverage from the Gaza Strip, has close ties to the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) and spoke at an official event for the proscribed terrorist group, which has carried out numerous deadly attacks on Israeli civilians.
In 2018, Al-Ghoul was among the speakers at an official PFLP event commemorating one of the prominent members of the terror group who was also Al-Ghoul’s relative.
According to the PFLP website, Al-Ghoul spoke on behalf of the family, which “expressed their gratitude to the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine and their esteemed comrades everywhere in the Palestinian land … for their … commitment to continue the struggle.”
Despite these disturbing revelations, CBS has refused to take any action against Al-Ghoul, declining even to comment on whether the network will continue employing him.
The Ta-Nehisi Coates Fiasco
One of the most high-profile incidents that laid bare the disquiet occurring at CBS was the furor that followed an interview between network anchor Tony Dokoupil and author Ta-Nehisi Coates, who was on a publicity tour for his new essay collection, The Message, part of which tackles the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
In a move that angered Dokoupil’s colleagues, the veteran journalist challenged Coates on some of the more contentious aspects of his book, including observing that it “would not be out of place in the backpack of an extremist,” and highlighting its omission of any mention of Palestinian terrorism.
This direct line of questioning led to an internal campaign waged by staffers against Dokoupil, who was subsequently reprimanded and forced to apologize by senior management — a decision that Paramount Global’s CEO, Shari Redstone, later reportedly admitted was a “mistake.”
Once again, CBS News did what has now become a pattern — ignored external criticism, refused to reverse its unjust reprimand of a journalist for simply doing his job, and continued down its path of compromising journalistic integrity.
Unbelievable. @CBSNews reprimanded a journalist for doing his job—challenging @TaNehisiCoats‘ limited understanding of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. https://t.co/ZBEBcReNjg
— HonestReporting (@HonestReporting) October 8, 2024
Internal Newsroom Orders Over Israel’s Capital
The pervasive anti-Israel bias that has taken over CBS News is perfectly encapsulated in an email sent out by the network’s senior director of standards and practices, Mark Memmott, in August, reminding staff not to refer to Israel’s capital, Jerusalem, as “being in Israel.”
According to the Free Press, the email continued: “Yes, the U.S. embassy is there and the Trump administration recognized it as being Israel’s capital. But its status is disputed. The status of Jerusalem goes to the heart of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Israel regards Jerusalem as its ‘eternal and undivided’ capital, while the Palestinians claim East Jerusalem—occupied by Israel in the 1967 Middle East war—as the capital of a future state.”
While the status of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital may be contested, arguing over whether it is actually in Israel is another matter entirely.
Aside from the fact that the Israeli Knesset physically sits in Israel, the Jerusalem Embassy Act, which was passed by the US Congress in 1995, recognizes the city as Israel’s capital. CBS’s stance implies otherwise, suggesting the network has taken it upon itself to unilaterally redefine the borders of a sovereign nation and its capital city.
Creeping Bias in News Stories
In the stories published daily on CBS News’ website, HonestReporting has uncovered numerous incidents demonstrating the organization’s sliding standards concerning its Israel coverage.
Wrong, @CBSNews. There’s plenty of evidence if you can be bothered to look, including provided by the IDF.
Do CBS reporters not bother checking IDF press releases or doing actual investigative journalism?
Let’s take a look at some of what you missed.
https://t.co/SG11KuO0Wa pic.twitter.com/aoVLyIMMZJ
— HonestReporting (@HonestReporting) October 28, 2024
Most recently, this has included examples of CBS journalists disregarding established facts from their own previous reports to construct an anti-Israel narrative. For instance, in a piece published last week, CBS claimed that the IDF had “provided no evidence” of Hezbollah weapons being stored in civilian areas — despite the fact that a CBS affiliate had reported on the evidence just a month prior.
Why CBS Must Act Now
These incidents paint a troubling picture of the declining journalistic standards at CBS News, where political bias has eclipsed the fundamental responsibility of reporting the truth. CBS News has lost its way, and without an immediate course correction, it will soon lose its credibility as a news outlet and its reputation along the way.
This starts with demanding that journalists either learn to leave their biases at the door or find another employer. For CBS News to demonstrate its commitment to maintaining editorial standards, rooting out the individuals who are eroding its reputation is where it begins.
The author is a contributor to HonestReporting, a Jerusalem-based media watchdog with a focus on antisemitism and anti-Israel bias — where a version of this article first appeared.
The post Amid Ta-Nehisi Coates and Israel Scandals, CBS News Is Facing a Crisis of Its Own Making first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Iranian Media Claims Obtaining ‘Sensitive’ Israeli Intelligence Materials
FILE PHOTO: The atomic symbol and the Iranian flag are seen in this illustration, July 21, 2022. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo
i24 News – Iranian and Iran-affiliated media claimed on Saturday that the Islamic Republic had obtained a trove of “strategic and sensitive” Israeli intelligence materials related to Israel’s nuclear facilities and defense plans.
“Iran’s intelligence apparatus has obtained a vast quantity of strategic and sensitive information and documents belonging to the Zionist regime,” Iran’s state broadcaster said, referring to Israel in the manner accepted in those Muslim or Arab states that don’t recognize its legitimacy. The statement was also relayed by the Lebanese site Al-Mayadeen, affiliated with the Iran-backed jihadists of Hezbollah.
The reports did not include any details on the documents or how Iran had obtained them.
The intelligence reportedly included “thousands of documents related to that regime’s nuclear plans and facilities,” it added.
According to the reports, “the data haul was extracted during a covert operation and included a vast volume of materials including documents, images, and videos.”
The report comes amid high tensions over Iran’s nuclear program, over which it is in talks with the US administration of President Donald Trump.
Iranian-Israeli tensions reached an all-time high since the October 7 massacre and the subsequent Gaza war, including Iranian rocket fire on Israel and Israeli aerial raids in Iran that devastated much of the regime’s air defenses.
Israel, which regards the prospect of the antisemitic mullah regime obtaining a nuclear weapon as an existential threat, has indicated it could resort to a military strike against Iran’s installations should talks fail to curb uranium enrichment.
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Israel Retrieves Body of Thai Hostage from Gaza
Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz looks on, amid the ongoing conflict in Gaza between Israel and Hamas, in Jerusalem, Nov. 7, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun
The Israeli military has retrieved the body of a Thai hostage who had been held in Gaza since Hamas’ October 7, 2023 attack, Defense Minister Israel Katz said on Saturday.
Nattapong Pinta’s body was held by a Palestinian terrorist group called the Mujahedeen Brigades, and was recovered from the area of Rafah in southern Gaza, Katz said. His family in Thailand has been notified.
Pinta, an agricultural worker, was abducted from Kibbutz Nir Oz, a small Israeli community near the Gaza border where a quarter of the population was killed or taken hostage during the Hamas attack that triggered the devastating war in Gaza.
Israel’s military said Pinta had been abducted alive and killed by his captors, who had also killed and taken to Gaza the bodies of two more Israeli-American hostages that were retrieved earlier this week.
There was no immediate comment from the Mujahedeen Brigades, who have previously denied killing their captives, or from Hamas. The Israeli military said the Brigades were still holding the body of another foreign national. Only 20 of the 55 remaining hostages are believed to still be alive.
The Mujahedeen Brigades also held and killed Israeli hostage Shiri Bibas and her two young sons, according to Israeli authorities. Their bodies were returned during a two-month ceasefire, which collapsed in March after the two sides could not agree on terms for extending it to a second phase.
Israel has since expanded its offensive across the Gaza Strip as US, Qatari and Egyptian-led efforts to secure another ceasefire have faltered.
US-BACKED AID GROUP HALTS DISTRIBUTIONS
The United Nations has warned that most of Gaza’s 2.3 million population is at risk of famine after an 11-week Israeli blockade of the enclave, with the rate of young children suffering from acute malnutrition nearly tripling.
Aid distribution was halted on Friday after the US-and Israeli-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation said overcrowding had made it unsafe to continue operations. It was unclear whether aid had resumed on Saturday.
The GHF began distributing food packages in Gaza at the end of May, overseeing a new model of aid distribution which the United Nations says is neither impartial nor neutral. It says it has provided around 9 million meals so far.
The Israeli military said on Saturday that 350 trucks of humanitarian aid belonging to U.N. and other international relief groups were transferred this week via the Kerem Shalom crossing into Gaza.
The war erupted after Hamas-led terrorists took 251 hostages and killed 1,200 people, most of them civilians, in the October 7, 2023 attack, Israel’s single deadliest day.
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US Mulls Giving Millions to Controversial Gaza Aid Foundation, Sources Say
Palestinians carry aid supplies which they received from the US-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, in the central Gaza Strip, May 29, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Ramadan Abed/File Photo
The State Department is weighing giving $500 million to the new foundation providing aid to war-shattered Gaza, according to two knowledgeable sources and two former US officials, a move that would involve the US more deeply in a controversial aid effort that has been beset by violence and chaos.
The sources and former US officials, all of whom requested anonymity because of the sensitivity of the matter, said that money for Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) would come from the US Agency for International Development (USAID), which is being folded into the US State Department.
The plan has met resistance from some US officials concerned with the deadly shootings of Palestinians near aid distribution sites and the competence of the GHF, the two sources said.
The GHF, which has been fiercely criticized by humanitarian organizations, including the United Nations, for an alleged lack of neutrality, began distributing aid last week amid warnings that most of Gaza’s 2.3 million population is at risk of famine after an 11-week Israeli aid blockade, which was lifted on May 19 when limited deliveries were allowed to resume.
The foundation has seen senior personnel quit and had to pause handouts twice this week after crowds overwhelmed its distribution hubs.
The State Department and GHF did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Reuters has been unable to establish who is currently funding the GHF operations, which began in Gaza last week. The GHF uses private US security and logistics companies to transport aid into Gaza for distribution at so-called secure distribution sites.
On Thursday, Reuters reported that a Chicago-based private equity firm, McNally Capital, has an “economic interest” in the for-profit US contractor overseeing the logistics and security of GHF’s aid distribution hubs in the enclave.
While US President Donald Trump’s administration and Israel say they don’t finance the GHF operation, both have been pressing the United Nations and international aid groups to work with it.
The US and Israel argue that aid distributed by a long-established U.N. aid network was diverted to Hamas. Hamas has denied that.
USAID has been all but dismantled. Some 80 percent of its programs have been canceled and its staff face termination as part of President Donald Trump’s drive to align US foreign policy with his “America First” agenda.
One source with knowledge of the matter and one former senior official said the proposal to give the $500 million to GHF has been championed by acting deputy USAID Administrator Ken Jackson, who has helped oversee the agency’s dismemberment.
The source said that Israel requested the funds to underwrite GHF’s operations for 180 days.
The Israeli government did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The two sources said that some US officials have concerns with the plan because of the overcrowding that has affected the aid distribution hubs run by GHF’s contractor, and violence nearby.
Those officials also want well-established non-governmental organizations experienced in running aid operations in Gaza and elsewhere to be involved in the operation if the State Department approves the funds for GHF, a position that Israel likely will oppose, the sources said.
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