CNN and NYT journalists helping Israel wage ‘information war’
A CNN commentator and New York Times reporters are mentoring in a journalism fellowship launched to help Israel win the “information war,” according to investigative outlet Drop Site.
Founded in 2025 by Jacki Karsh and her husband, the program bills itself as “the world’s only journalism fellowship solely dedicated to Jewish topics” and is “resolutely nonpartisan.”
Karsh said she started it to “shift the narrative” in Israel’s favor, citing the need to fight “on the battlegrounds of academia, law, business, [and] media.”
Drop Site described her as an “open and die-hard” supporter of Israel, citing a March interview in which she framed Israel as “on the facts side,” and called the IDF “the most moral army in the world.”
The fellowship has recruited 16 mentors from outlets including The Atlantic, Spectrum News, The Spectator, Ynet, and Times of Israel. Among them are New York Times journalists Jodi Rudoren and Sharon Otterman, according to Drop Site.
Other mentors include CNN’s Van Jones, who apologized after backlash over comments on HBO’s ‘Real Time With Bill Maher’ linking images of dead Palestinian children to an Iranian and Qatari disinformation campaign; and Atlantic writer Michael Powell, who has criticized rights groups like Amnesty International for being “stridently critical of Israel.”
When Drop Site asked how the program could be “resolutely nonpartisan” given its stated aim, fellowship director Rob Eshmen said it aims to foster “fairness and accuracy on Israel and Jewish issues.” He added that “the best response to misinformation is journalism grounded in evidence, integrity, and independence.”
Karsh has described Hamas as “real life monsters” and compared them to Nazis. She also challenged Gaza casualty figures – which the UN and IDF say are broadly accurate – telling eJewishPhilanthropy that figures “influence how people perceive the story.”
Over 65,000 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza, according to the Palestinian authorities, since Israel launched its military operation in response to the Hamas surprise attack that killed around 1,200 people and resulted in more than 250 taken hostage. The war has also led to unprecedented destruction and a humanitarian disaster in the enclave.
