A news outlet such as the BBC does not need to lie to misinform. In fact, the greatest tool of narrative control they have is simply to omit. What the BBC chooses to withhold is often the most important factor in the quality of their reporting. It is also something that is exceptionally difficult to hold them to account for, given the internal complaints procedure and the difficulty in complaining about things that simply do not exist.
On June 25th the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) announced a review into its documentation of the deaths of Journalists in Gaza since 2023 in light of the publication of mourning notices by Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad:
“New York, June 25, 2026—The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) is conducting a full review of its database of journalists killed during the Israel-Gaza War after militant groups Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) published obituaries identifying as combatants individuals previously listed by CPJ as journalists.”
This review included the immediate removal of eight names unmasked as combatants by the terrorist organisations themselves, another 12 removed for other reasons, and is ongoing, expected to conclude in July. Given the amount of evidence of the prevalence of this issue, it is likely to result in the removal of considerably more.
The BBC, across broadcast, radio and website, have not mentioned this development at all.
The BBC has dedicated considerable time to the deaths of journalists, or those claiming to be such, and regularly uses the CPJ as a source. In January 2026:
“The CPJ has documented the killing of at least 206 journalists and media workers by Israeli fire in Gaza since the start of the war – the deadliest conflict for journalists ever documented.”
In August 2025:
“Committee for the Protection of Journalists CEO Jodie Ginsberg told the BBC there was no justification for Sharif’s killing.”
“According to the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), a leading body which promotes press freedom, the war in Gaza has been the deadliest conflict for journalists ever documented. It says more press members have been killed there in the past two years than were killed worldwide in the prior three years.”
Further, two of the names immediately removed were reported by BBC Arabic as journalists killed in Gaza, something as yet uncorrected by the BBC.
The cynical use by terrorists of the western press for propaganda purposes should be a scandal. Terrorists putting on press jackets as a way to vilify Israel in the eyes of the western public, as part of their war aim to isolate Israel internationally and increase attacks on Jews in the diaspora, should be utterly rejected by every true journalist in the world. Not only does it denigrate a profession which relies almost entirely on personal integrity and truth, but it also endangers true journalists. If the press vest loses its meaning, the job of correspondents in combat zones becomes exponentially more dangerous.
As CPJ CEO Jodie Ginsberg says:
“CPJ condemns in no uncertain terms the misrepresentation of combatants as journalists or media workers — or the misuse of ‘Press’ insignia. Such actions endanger every single individual journalist legitimately trying to report… We are conducting a full review of the names on our lists to confirm that no one who was actively engaged in combat is listed in our data.”
Terrorists are abusing the crucial work of the journalist to cynically manipulate the western public. So why does the BBC not want you to know about it?
The BBC tendency towards the Institutional Infantilisation of terrorists is something we at CAMERA have documented extensively. The refusal to identify the communications strategy of multibillion-dollar terrorist organisations seems to be born from a refusal to credit these organisations with that level of complexity. Combined with a deeply ingrained, reflexive anti-Israel bias this noble savage style trope about the capabilities of terrorists undermines the very bedrock of BBC credibility.
BBC journalists have chosen not to cover this story. They haven’t missed it, it’s not that they just didn’t know, it’s not realistic to think the CPJ press release got lost in the spam folder. They have made a choice not to let their audience know that Hamas and PIJ have openly admitted abusing the press vest for propaganda purposes, calling into question huge amounts of their own reporting from Gaza.
When an institution is making choices based on political preferences and an unequal view of the strategic abilities of groups of people based on race or nationality, it can no longer be considered to be accurate or impartial.