[1] It was founded in October 2000 by Shaul Rosenblatt, founder and head of Aish Hatorah-United Kingdom in response to controversy over the Tuvia Grossman photograph at the outbreak of the Second Intifada.
[11][12] In 2012, a campaign by HRC led to a Canadian Broadcast Standards Council investigation after local politician Stéphane Gendron made controversial comments on the French-language V Television Network.
[13] In November 2024, Honest Reporting Canada's assistant director, Robert Walker, was criminally charged with 17 counts of mischief for allegedly vandalizing several properties in a Toronto neighborhood by spraypainting anti-Palestinian graffiti.
[20] HonestReporting's actions have resulted in a number of corrections in the media including: The American Journalism Review described the organisation as a "pro-Israeli pressure group".
In an analysis of the responses published in the journal, Karl Sabbagh concluded that the correspondence was orchestrated by Honest Reporting and aimed at silencing legitimate criticism of Israel.
[34][35] Daniel Finkelstein, associate editor of The Times, responded that Sabbagh's piece was "anti-Israel propaganda" that did not meet even "basic academic standards" of scientific analysis.
[36] During the Israel–Hamas war, HonestReporting said that the journalists who had photographed the October 7 Hamas attack were "part of the plan" and involved in "coordination with the terrorists"; later, the group's executive director said he had no evidence for the allegation.
The AP and CNN announced that they would stop working with one of the freelance photographers, after HonestReporting showed a picture of him being kissed by Hamas leader Yehia Sinwar.