Following the October 7 attack, Israel is tied with Iran in sixth place on a list of the world’s leading jailers of journalists, the Committee to Protect Journalists’ (CPJ) 2023 prison census has found. Iran and Israel are listed behind China, Myanmar, Belarus, Russia, and Vietnam.
Despite CPJ's claims, the IDF stresses that "journalists" arrested in Gaza are connected to Hamas and other terror organizations in the Strip. Earlier this month, it presented evidence to prove that two Gazan journalists killed by the IDF were terrorists.
On the census date of December 1, 2023, CPJ documented 320 imprisoned journalists worldwide, the second-highest number recorded by CPJ since the census began in 1992. China, Myanmar, and Belarus held more than a third of those incarcerated on the day of the census, with 44, 43, and 28 behind bars, respectively.
CPJ's list has featured Israel in previous reports but recorded the highest number of arrests of Palestinian journalists since they began recording cases in the region in 1992. With the current war between Israel and Hamas, the report focuses on those who were arrested in the West Bank post-October 7.
The report cites data collected by the organization that the majority were held in administrative detention as of a December 1 census. Administrative detention would allow detention without charges because security forces believe the detainee may be able to plan another offense.
The CPJ says that these procedures are closed and made it difficult for the organization to find credible information on accusations against journalists in the region. The report says that several families reached out regarding family members who were jailed for what they believed were social media postings.
The report claims that "more than" 20 journalists had been detained since the beginning of the war, but did not include those released before December 1 in the 2023 numbers.
Disputes over social media postings, praising October 7 Massacre
On November 1, Haifa-based NGO 7amleh published a briefing on Palestinian digital rights on October 7, claiming that Palestinian voices were censored across many different social platforms. The organization wrote of “significant and disproportionate censorship of Palestinian voices, which severely restricts freedom of expression and access to information, more direly so with journalists and human rights defenders. This is compounded by the one-sided and context-lacking portrayal of the region’s situation by mainstream media.”
According to the report, the organization's analysis ignores the correlation between Arab-language and Palestinian incitement and its connection to antisemitic content. They claim that anything critical of the Israeli government or any form of solidarity with Gaza is immediately censored.
The report states that the organization's approach is essentially gaslighting by denying that Jews and Israelis are finding themselves the targets of vicious online antisemitism and violent threats from alleged "Palestinian voices." This includes comments far beyond "Free Palestine," harassment, and antisemitic rhetoric.
NGO Monitor cited finding celebratory posts from Palestinian Arabic-language ones on Facebook specifically praising the October 7 massacre, which ultimately contradicts the claims made by 7amleh.
The organization fails to define "censorship" consistently after complaining that there were “283 censorship violations on Meta’s Instagram, Facebook, and WhatsApp... mainly Restrictions and Content Takedown... [and] cases where pages were completely taken down and users were suspended and not allowed to appeal,” according to the report, without connecting the claims to that of Meta police.
7amleh also states that “numerous cases have emerged where individuals have been apprehended [by Israel] simply for expressing their views or opinions on various digital platforms,” leading to the arrest and interrogation of Palestinians for their social media usage. Though Palestinian rights activist Ahed Tamimi was arrested Monday morning by the IDF, no mention of the initial social media posting that allegedly got her arrested—nor her alleged history of calls for violence against Jews and IDF personnel—has been communicated by the NGO.
Did Israel imprison as many journalists as enemy state Iran?
CPJ noted a sharp decline in jailed journalists in Iran for 2023, noting the increase examined during the September 2022 protests following the death of Mahsa Amini.
They also noted that of the 20 jailed in Iran in the 2023 census, 8 of them were female. This was 42 less than the 62 recorded for 2022, many of which have since been released on bail, and are awaiting charges or sentencing.
The organization does not believe the data shows a decrease in aggression by the Iranian regime against media.
Photojournalists contribute to lynching and massacres in Israel
Media watchdog HonestReporting, who focus on anti-Israel media coverage, uncovered last month that two Gaza-based photojournalists who worked for AP and Reuters had bragged about footage they acquired while accompanying Hamas terrorists during the October 7 massacre.
Ashraf Amra and fellow photojournalist Mohammed Fayq Abu Mostafa recorded a video laughing at the lynching of an IDF soldier pulled from a tank on October 7 - footage they captured on the scene.
The two displayed the footage while livestreaming.
Their images of Hamas terrorists holding the dead body of an IDF soldier they murdered were internationally recognized.