LONDON: Media rights group the Committee to Protect Journalists has voted to keep its current definition of who counts as a journalist, following a week of turmoil over fears that Palestinian and Lebanese reporters killed by Israel could be erased from its casualty database.
On June 25, CPJ announced it had removed 20 names from its database of journalists killed in Gaza and Lebanon after finding that some listed individuals had been identified as Hamas or Palestinian Islamic Jihad combatants — a decision that drew criticism and sparked speculation of an imminent change to how the organisation formally defines who can be included on the list.
Of the names removed, eight were identified as combatants, while a further 12 were delisted for unspecified reasons.
“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,” board chair Jacob Weisberg said in a statement.
“Board members asked for a vote on a plan to look again at this definition and today voted to affirm the existing definition.”
