The Iranian government has rescinded Reuters’ press accreditation for an offensive headline for an article on female ninjas in the Islamic Republic.
Writing about a school training women in ninjutsu, Reuters originally headlined its article “Thousands of female ninjas train as Iran’s assassins.”
The news service quoted one of the fighters as saying, “Our aim is for Iranian women to be strengthened and, if a problem arises, we will definitely declare our readiness to defend our Islamic homeland.”
Following publication of the article, several of the women threatened to sue Reuters for defamation. Iran’s Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance also complained to Reuters about the article, and the company quickly changed the headline to “Three thousand women ninjas train in Iran.”
Despite the move, Reuters staffers were ordered to surrender their press cards.
Get The Times of Israel's Daily Edition
by email and never miss our top stories
By signing up, you agree to the
terms
Reuters said in a statement that it was in discussions with the government to resolve the situation.
Help us report truthfully on social media
As a multimedia journalist, my job is to take the quality, fact-based journalism produced by The Times of Israel newsroom and make it accessible across every platform — from Instagram posts to podcasts to short-form videos.
This is how many, especially young people, consume news these days. But misinformation is rampant on social media. Our team at ToI produces accurate, responsible short-form reporting on Israel and the Jewish world.
If you believe in the importance of factual social media journalism, please consider joining our reader support group, The Times of Israel Community. Your financial support is essential to sustain responsible multimedia reporting.
— Gabriella Jacobs, multimedia journalist
Support our work
Support our work
Already a member? Sign in to stop seeing this
You're a dedicated reader
We’re really pleased that you’ve read X Times of Israel articles in the past month.
That’s why we started the Times of Israel - to provide discerning readers like you with must-read coverage of Israel and the Jewish world.
So now we have a request. Unlike other news outlets, we haven’t put up a paywall. But as the journalism we do is costly, we invite readers for whom The Times of Israel has become important to help support our work by joining The Times of Israel Community.
For as little as $6 a month you can help support our quality journalism while enjoying The Times of Israel AD-FREE, as well as accessing exclusive content available only to Times of Israel Community members.
Thank you,
David Horovitz, Founding Editor of The Times of Israel
Join Our Community
Join Our Community
Already a member? Sign in to stop seeing this
Add ToI as a Preferred Source on Google
