When Israel assassinated Palestinian journalist Anas al-Sharif earlier this month, the Reuters news agency ran a report titled: “Israel kills Al Jazeera journalist it says was Hamas leader”. They chose that headline despite the fact al-Sharif used to work for them – he was part of a Reuters team that won a 2024 Pulitzer Prize.

Instances like this caused a backlash online, but also sparked concern among some staff at the influential global newswire, which was founded in London in 1851 and now has a daily audience of more than a billion. Multiple Reuters employees have spoken to Declassified about what they see as pro-Israel bias among the company’s editors and management. All requested anonymity to avoid reprisals. In the email, they also said,“

I’ve attached a report…and an open letter some colleagues and I sent to management in the hopes that Reuters will uphold basic journalistic principles, but I now recognize that senior leadership is unlikely to change, much less stop actively stifling critiques.”