HonestReporting media watchdog exposes terror ties of CBS News journalist

A CBS News journalist of over two decades has links to Palestinian terror groups, including Hamas and the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), according to media watchdog HonestReporting. 

An investigation by the organization found that Marwan al-Ghoul, a CBS News journalist and producer for over 20 years, praised terrorists at an official event of the PFLP. It also revealed that he had contacts with Hamas terrorists while serving as a member of the Gaza City Municipality Council. 

CBS in Gaza is employing a journalist with terror ties!

Marwan al-Ghoul has been working with @CBSNews for decades, all while praising terrorists and holding a public role in Hamas-ruled Gaza. Dive into the alarming details we can exclusively reveal.https://t.co/2VbrxN3mG7

— HonestReporting (@HonestReporting) July 24, 2024

The PFLP has been designated as a terrorist organization by several countries, including the United States and the European Union, for terror attacks against Israelis, including suicide bombings and shootings.

According to the PFLP website, al-Ghoul spoke at the 2018 event, which was held to honor a prominent member of the group who was also a relative of al-Ghoul. He spoke on behalf of his family and “expressed their gratitude to the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine and their esteemed comrades everywhere in the Palestinian land . . . for their . . . commitment to continue the struggle.” 

In his speech, al-Ghoul openly praised terrorists from the PFLP, and emphasized his relative’s commitment to “maintaining the noble national values established by the leading martyrs, such as Al-Hakim, Abu Ali Mustafa, and Wadie Haddad, and those who followed their path of struggle and martyrdom.” 

HonestReporting also revealed that al-Ghoul was a member of the Gaza City Municipality Council. A report on the municipality website shows an image of al-Ghoul, with other council members, welcoming a PFLP group to discuss “issues of concern to citizens in the city, and ways of cooperation.” 

While al-Ghoul resigned from his position in November 2022, according to a member of the Palestinian Fatah party, Gaza Municipal Council members are appointed by the Hamas terror organization. 

Despite these problematic ties to terror groups, CBS not only continued its relationship with al-Ghoul before the Oct. 7 Hamas attack but continued to feature his work afterward, saying he was “a CBS News producer who lives in Gaza with his family,” and calling him “much loved here at CBS News.” 

CBS News featured al-Ghoul in a story where it expressed concern for his safety, never once mentioning his ties to terror organizations which could endanger his life. The news outlet also did not mention a post by al-Ghoul from Oct. 7 in which he celebrated the attacks, saying: “Oh Allah, we ask you for patience and victory.” 

Instead, CBS News featured al-Ghoul in an article about Gaza journalists who “risk everything to report on the Israel-Hamas war.” 

The HonestReporting report comes amid a growing awareness of journalists in Gaza with ties to terror organizations. 

Independent journalist David Collier released a report earlier this year, showing that many journalists listed as killed during the war by the NGO Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), were, in fact, Hamas or Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) terrorists. This was often evidenced by their social media posts, which showed them in uniform and brandishing weapons.

This finding calls into question the accuracy of news reports submitted by these journalists and highlights the potential for bias in the organizations that rely on them.