Former Israeli spies hold prominent US media positions: Report

By Efe Ozkan

ISTANBUL (AA) – An online news outlet has alleged that numerous US media figures are also former Israeli spies.

White House Correspondents' Association award winner Barak Ravid, CNN producer Shachar Peled, and New York Times producer Anat Schwartz are all alumni of Israel’s Unit 8200 – a covert ops, spying, and cyberwarfare unit – and now have prominent media positions, reported MintPress on Thursday.

Unit 8200 has also been widely identified as the group behind last month’s pager attack in Lebanon that injured thousands of civilians.

MintPress writer Alan Macleod said he was not accusing them of being current spies but did question their suitability for journalism.

“While I'm not saying these individuals are spies, are people with these pasts truly appropriate candidates to write Americans' news about Israel/Palestine? What if it were ex-Hamas/Hezbollah intelligence operatives now running things at CNN or elsewhere?” he asked on X.

Former Unit 8200 agents also created the notorious Pegasus software used to surveil journalists, activists, and heads of state around the world, said the MintPress piece.

Unit 8200 is also reportedly behind Lavender, the AI software that automatically generates kill lists of tens of thousands of Gazans and aid in the deadly bombing campaign in the enclave.