Leaked Emails Show Canadian Media Exec Demanding Journalists Avoid Using Term ‘Terrorist’ in Hamas Coverage
World,Israel,Palestine,Middle East,Hamas,Terrorism,Polarization,Media Bias
An email from the Canadian Broadcast Corporation (CBC), a publicly funded news outlet, instructed journalists to avoid using the word “terrorist” in their coverage of the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas.
“Do not refer to militants, soldiers, or anyone else as ‘terrorists,'” George Achi, the Director of Journalistic Standards with CBC News, told employees in an email sent midday Saturday. “The notion of terrorism remains highly politicized and is part of the story. Even when quoting/clipping a government or a source referring to fighters as ‘terrorists,’ we should add context to ensure the audience understands this opinion, not fact,” Achi explained in a note first obtained by the American organization StopAntisemtism.
Achi’s comments come on the heels of video and photographic evidence released by Israel on Sunday morning showing elderly civilians killed at a bus stop in southern Israel, a female captive in the Gaza Strip with bloodied pants, and a gathering of civilians killed at a what appears to be a party.
“We debated whether or not to share these horrific images, but the world needs to know what we are up against,” Israel’s official social-media account on X, the social-media platform formerly known as Twitter, wrote. “These aren’t ‘freedom fighters.’ They are Hamas terrorists, but no different than ISIS terrorists. Same tactics, different names. Butchering families, kidnapping grandmothers. Desecrating bodies.”
Chuck Thompson, the Head of Public Affairs for CBC, told National Review, “As was made clear in the email you saw, CBC News attributes the words ‘terrorist’ and ‘terrorism’ to authorities, politicians and other officials who use these terms. There is no ban on these words. However, we ourselves avoid declaring specific groups terrorists, in line with the policies of many reputable news organizations and agencies around the world.”
“The focus of our news coverage is on describing exactly what happened in detail, as we have with all that has transpired this weekend,” Thompson elaborated.
