Canadian Broadcasting Corporation faces backlash after internal memo directing journalists to avoid calling 9/11 attacks a 'terrorist attack' surfaces

 

The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) faced political and public backlash after an internal memo surfaced directing journalists to avoid calling the September 11^th attacks a “terrorist attack.”

The directive, issued ahead of the 25^th anniversary of the 2001 tragedy by CBC’s Senior Director of Journalistic Standards and Public Trust, Basem Boshra, 

 

instructed newsroom staff not to refer to the 9/11 attacks as terrorist attacks.

Instead, it directed them to state that the “hijackings” led to passenger jet crashes in Washington, D.C., Pennsylvania and Manhattan, and that the World Trade Center was destroyed. The memo was first reported by Canadian columnist Warren Kinsella, sparking quick pushback across Canada and internationally.

Critics from political sectors and advocacy groups condemned the language guidance.

 

Conservative Party of Canada Leader Pierre Poilievre described calling 9/11 anything other than a terrorist attack as an appalling distortion of history that dishonors the victims, their families, the survivors and the first responders.

U.S. lawmakers and public figures also weighed in with harsh criticism, while the Center for Israel and Jewish Affairs accused Canada’s public broadcaster of attempting to sanitize history and failing basic journalistic standards.

Initial defenses from CBC spokespeople emphasized that the internal guidance reflected a long-standing policy regarding neutral language.

 

The network pointed to editorial standards “previously outlined by General Manager and Editor-in-Chief Brodie Fenlon,”

 

 who stated that CBC News avoids assigning labels like “terrorist” or “terrorism” on its own authority — applying the restriction across various historic events including bombings in London, Madrid, and Moscow — to preserve impartiality and avoid “emotionally charged” terminology.

CBC maintained further that its policy was designed to attribute such terms to government officials or investigating bodies rather than declaring them as neutral editorial facts.

Following days of public outcry and political pressure, CBC reportedly updated its guidelines. In an official editor’s blog post, Boshra acknowledged that the leaked memo excerpt had created significant concern, anger and hurt, clarifying that the network never intended to minimize the horror of the attacks or deny al-Qaeda’s responsibility.

 

To eliminate what it called an “unintentional impediment to public understanding,” CBC News formally adjusted its editorial standards, removing the requirement for direct attribution when describing the historic September 11, 2001, events as terrorism.