Tories Demand Committee Look Into CBC Instructing Reporters Not to Call Hamas ‘Terrorists’

Conservatives are demanding a House of Commons committee investigation into the issue.
Tories Demand Committee Look Into CBC Instructing Reporters Not to Call Hamas ‘Terrorists’
People walk toward the CBC building in Toronto in a file photo. Nathan Denette/The Canadian Press
Marnie Cathcart
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Conservatives are demanding a House of Commons committee investigation into a leaked Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) memo that instructs reporters not to refer to members of Hamas as “terrorists” and instead to use the word “militants.”

CBC, a publicly funded news outlet, told journalists in a leaked email written by CBC Director of Journalistic Standards George Achi not to say that Gaza has not been occupied by Israel since 2005, and not to refer to “militants, soldiers, or anyone else” as “terrorists.” The instructions came after Hamas launched rocket attacks on Israel, killed civilians on the ground in Israeli cities close to the Gaza border, and took hostages, including children, to Gaza.