Last September, Ottawa Life Magazine exposed 128 cases of misreporting by the CBC on the Israel-Hamas conflict, as tracked and reported by HonestReporting Canada.
The CBC, as Canada’s national, publicly funded broadcaster, has a mandate to reflect the diversity of Canada and uphold high journalistic standards. According to the CBC’s Journalistic Standards and Practices, journalists are expected to be independent, impartial, and avoid any actions that create an impression of partisanship or advocacy. However, the recent cases of misreporting and biased coverage have raised serious concerns about the CBC’s adherence to these standards.
HonestReporting Canada is an independent grassroots organization dedicated to promoting fairness and accuracy in Canadian media coverage of Israel, the Middle East, and issues affecting Canada’s Jewish community. With the support of over 60,000 members from coast to coast, HonestReporting Canada monitors the media, recognizes excellence, and exposes inaccuracy and bias in Canadian reporting on the region. Their mission is to challenge anti-Jewish rhetoric, particularly when antisemitism hides behind a mask of anti-Israel criticism.
The Ottawa Life Magazine article ignited a substantial outcry from organizations and individuals alarmed by the biased coverage in Canada’s publicly funded broadcaster and its detrimental impact on public trust and the rise of antisemitic hatred in Canada.
Five months later, the pervasive antisemitism and anti-Israel misreporting at CBC continues unchecked, with an additional 27 incidents of antisemitic, anti-Israel, and anti-Jewish reporting added to the initial 128 cases reported last September. This brings the total to 155 cases of blatant misreporting and bias across multiple CBC channels, further corroding the trust Canadians place in their national broadcaster.
On Tuesday, February 18, HonestReporting Canada, in collaboration with the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs (CIJA), proactively intervened with the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) in an attempt to hold CBC to account. They argue that the CBC’s biased coverage of Israel and the Middle East is a betrayal of public trust and contributes to the rising level of antisemitic hatred in Canada.
The CRTC, as the regulatory authority for broadcasting in Canada, has the power to intervene in cases where broadcasters fail to adhere to their mandates and standards. HonestReporting Canada and CIJA are calling for an independent commission of inquiry to investigate the CBC’s biased coverage and hold the broadcaster accountable. The CRTC can take various actions, including imposing fines, mandating corrective measures, or even revoking broadcasting licenses in extreme cases.
As part of their complaint to CRTC, HonestReporting Canada and CIJA note that since the October 7th massacre, numerous troubling incidents have been reported on CBC, including:
• CBC employees taking anti-Israel positions on their social media accounts while presenting themselves as neutral journalists.
• The platforming of a Gaza-based journalist known for his anti-Israel tirades without disclosing his links to the Hamas-sponsoring Iranian regime.
• Allowing journalists who have signed anti-Israel petitions to report on Israel and the Middle East, resulting in distorted and biased coverage.
These actions violate the CBC’s own conflict of interest standards and journalistic practices, corroding the trust of Canadians and undermining the CBC’s mandate to reflect the multicultural and multiracial nature of Canada.
Since October 7th (and before), Canadians have been served up a dish of curated, custom-made ‘my-truths’ by a gaggle of uneducated, antisemitic, and obtuse CBC reporters and hosts who can’t recognize antisemitism even when it is sitting right in front of them. This profound and disturbing tone-deafness in its reporting has completely alienated the Jewish community in Canada, leading to the current scrutiny from the CRTC.
The failure of the editorial staff at the CBC to delineate between objective truth and fiction in their reporting has led to a situation where Canada’s national broadcaster has become a leading platform for spreading antisemitic tropes in Canada. The pervasive and cancerous antisemitism that has been allowed to spread unchecked within ‘Mothercorp’ must end. It also raises the very legitimate question of why taxpayers continue to contribute $1.4 billion annually to support this bloated entity.
In filing their complaint, HonestReporting Canada and CIJA are urging the public to join them in sending a strong message that biased and unethical journalism will not be tolerated. They are calling for the immediate reassignment of CBC journalists who have publicly demonstrated bias on issues related to Israel and the Middle East until an independent inquiry is completed.
