The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) has moved to contain a growing backlash over fears that Palestinian and Lebanese reporters killed by Israel could be erased from its casualty database, voting on Wednesday to affirm its existing definition of “who is a journalist.”
The vote came after days of criticism over reports that CPJ was considering whether to revisit its criteria at a time when Israel has killed more journalists than any other recent war. Critics warned that any narrowing of the definition could serve Israeli efforts to smear Palestinian reporters after killing them.
CPJ denied that it had planned to exclude slain Palestinian and Lebanese journalists, insisting that its existing definition remains in place.
“It is not true that CPJ planned to change our definition of who is a journalist to exclude slain Palestinian and Lebanese press killed in the Israel-Gaza war,” board chair Jacob Weisberg said in a statement. “Such unsubstantiated allegations undermine the rigorous documentation of our Middle East and North Africa program over many years, while endangering Palestinian and Lebanese journalists documenting events on the ground today.”
“CPJ frequently considers its definition of a journalist, including a review that took place in 2025 led by CPJ staff and the board’s Policy Task Force,” Weisberg added. “Board members asked for a vote on a plan to look again at this definition and today voted to affirm the existing definition.”
