CNN quietly edited a national security analyst’s biography Wednesday after a report revealed she was a board member of a Qatari-funded organization.
The Conservative Review’s Jordan Schachtel reported Tuesday that several CNN contributors and guests have undisclosed ties to the Qatari government, which could influence their on-air coverage of Middle Eastern affairs. Juliette Kayemm, a national security analyst who is on contract with CNN, was listed by the network as of Wednesday as a board member of the International Centre for Sport Security (ICSS). (REPORT: National Security Experts On CNN Have Ties To Qatar)
ICSS president Mohammed Hanzab said in 2016 that the group is “70% funded by the Qatar government,” a regime that is accused of funding terror and violating basic human rights.
Despite the fact that CNN’s biography for Kayyem on its website called her a “board member of … the International Centre for Sport Security,” a CNN source reached out to The Daily Caller to dispute that characterization.
“She WAS on the board of International Center for Sports Security, an organization promoting best practices for the safety of sporting events, which included senior leaders from the U.S., Europe, and elsewhere. That contract ENDED several years ago,” the source claimed.
CNN Bio, Juliette Kayyem (Screenshot, CNN.com)
The Caller pointed out that Kayyem’s bio on the CNN website said she was a board member of the ICSS. Shortly thereafter, the source indicated that her bio had been updated.
However, rather than changing Kayyem’s affiliation with the group to past tense, CNN scrubbed any references to it entirely.
CNN Updated Bio, Juliette Kayyem (Screenshot, CNN.com)
CNN did not respond Wednesday evening when the Caller asked why the reference was removed.
Kayyem’s affiliation with the group was also changed on her faculty page at Harvard University, where she serves as a lecturer in International Security. Her page initially cited her as a current board member at ICSS, but was updated Wednesday evening to say her membership ended in 2015.
Harvard University Faculty Page, Juliette Kayyem (Screenshot, HKS.Harvard.edu)
Conservative Review’s Schachtel notes on Twitter that Kayyem was running for governor of Massachusetts in 2014, while she was still on the board of group funded by a foreign government.
Kayyem’s own website, however, still lists her as an active member of the board.
Juliette Kayyem’s Website (Screenshot)
Kayyem denied Tuesday that she ever worked for the Qatari government, but did not address her work with ICSS or the discrepancies on when she officially left the board of the group. The ICSS website is currently inactive and thus cannot be used to verify whether Kayyem was still considered a board member as of Wednesday.