CNN’s Coverage on US Bombing of Iran’s Nuclear Sites Under Scrutiny
On Thursday, CNN’s Kate Bolduan stated that the network’s reports did not overlook any significant details about the US bombings targeting Iran’s nuclear facilities, even after the network adjusted its reporting following criticism on Wednesday.
A piece led by former Politico reporter Natasha Betrand had initially detailed the leaked Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) report, which suggested that the recent US bombing efforts only set back Iran’s nuclear program by a few months. However, early versions of the article neglected to mention that the DIA rated the intelligence as “unreliable,” based on satellite imagery of the underground sites.
After being called out for this omission, CNN revised its article, including information about the low confidence rating of the DIA’s intelligence. This correction came after comments by Hegseth, who criticized the network’s earlier coverage. Bolduan defended CNN’s reporting, insisting that the low confidence factor had been acknowledged throughout the reporting process.
She reflected, “He pointed out that it was preliminary and low confidence, and CNN covered all of that. I checked to ensure we reported everything accurately.” CNN reporter Sarah Sidner supported this, saying, “It’s all there.”
However, a review by Daily Caller showed that the terms “low confidence” and “preliminary” were absent in the original article published on June 24, 2025. A tweet referencing this inconsistency highlighted a fetcher saying that CNN’s journalists echoed the same arguments without acknowledgment of their inaccuracies.
In Thursday’s segment, Bolduan referenced a revised passage added later but did not clarify that it was included after Hegseth’s remarks. She read from the updated article, which mentioned that the initial DIA analysis was developed shortly after the attacks, labeling it as preliminary and of low confidence. This particular phrasing was not present in the archived version from earlier in the week.
CNN did issue an editor’s note that stated, “This story has been updated with additional details,” yet it did not specify which details were newly added. Efforts by Daily Caller to reach out for clarification on when CNN became aware of the low confidence rating received no response.
