The Telegraph published a story detailing the devastation caused by US-Israeli attacks on civilian targets across Iran, but made substantial edits after a post on X expressing surprise at the directness of the reporting was shared thousands of times.

The original introduction to the article read: “American and Israeli aircraft bombed hospitals, residential buildings and schools across Tehran on Tuesday in what residents described as ‘an apocalypse’.”

​But the paper rewrote the introduction after journalist Owen Jones quoted the article in a post on X, pointing out that it was unusual for a “rightwing, pro-war” outlet to cover US and Israeli aggression in this way.

The newly edited article begins: “Bombs have struck hospitals, schools and residential buildings in some of the heaviest strikes on Tehran since the war began.”

Another paragraph in the original article said: “Millions of civilians are trapped under relentless bombardment as food and medical supplies dwindle and the death toll mounts.”

The new version of this sentence does not reference civilians and has been moved lower down the article. It reads: “Millions remain trapped in Tehran, a city under sustained aerial assault.”

The Telegraph’s decision to name the US and Israel so directly as the perpetrators of attacks against civilians set it apart from many mainstream outlets, which have been accused of repeatedly obscuring the role of the two countries in committing atrocities in Gaza.

“Wow. This is the rightwing, pro-war Daily Telegraph,” Jones wrote on X, before quoting from the original opening paragraph.

The Telegraph did not respond to Novara Media’s questions about why the article had been edited and has not flagged the changes to readers on its website.

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