A CNN morning update on the Israel-Iran War, entitled “Israel and Iran traded another overnight barrage of strikes. Here’s the latest,” applies a curious double standard when it comes to casualties.
Among the bullet-point updates, CNN states:
Casualties climb: At least five people were killed in Israel by the overnight strikes, raising the Israeli death toll to 19 since hostilities began. Meanwhile, at least 224 people in Iran were killed and 1,277 hospitalized, the majority of whom were civilians, according to Iranian authorities and state-run media.
Every single Israeli fatality has been a civilian. So why did CNN repeat Iranian claims regarding the civilian status of fatalities in Iran (questionable figures which almost certainly include the regime’s officials as well as nuclear scientists and engineers), but omit the civilian status of the fatalities in Israel?
Casualty update from rocket strike incidents at 4 sites in central Israel. MDA EMTs and paramedics pronounced the deaths of 4 people — 2 women and 2 men, all approximately 70 years old. So far, MDA teams have evacuated 87 casualties to hospitals. pic.twitter.com/Xcb2RH80tu
— Magen David Adom (@Mdais) June 16, 2025
CNN’s separate standards continue to shred the network’s credibility.