CALGARY — The CBC has reminded its journalists not to independently describe the September 11, 2001 attacks as “terrorist attacks” ahead of the 25th anniversary of the attacks.A memo circulated to CBC reporters and editors instructs staff: “Do not refer to the Sept. 11 attacks as terrorist attacks.”The memo, a copy of which was obtained by the National Post, instead directs journalists to describe the events by stating that “the hijackings led to passenger jet crashes in Washington, D.C., Pennsylvania and Manhattan,” adding that the World Trade Center was destroyed.On September 11, 2001, 19 members of al-Qaeda hijacked four commercial passenger planes. Two aircraft were flown into the World Trade Center towers in New York, another struck the Pentagon in Virginia, and a fourth crashed in Pennsylvania after passengers attempted to regain control of the plane. Nearly 3,000 people were killed.The attacks led to major changes in US national security policy and the subsequent military campaign in Afghanistan. Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden, who was identified as the mastermind behind the attacks, was killed by US forces in Pakistan in 2011..CBC spokesperson Kerry Kelly told the National Post that it would be inaccurate to interpret the memo as instructing journalists to say the attacks were not terrorism.“It is wholly inaccurate to state our journalists have been urged to declare that this was not a terrorist act,” Kelly said.Instead, she said the memo was a reminder of the CBC's longstanding language guidance surrounding the words “terrorist” and “terrorism.”“CBC preferences use of these words with attribution to credible sources, a practice shared by many of the world’s top journalistic organizations,” Kelly said.The policy was outlined publicly by CBC News editor-in-chief and general manager Brodie Fenlon in a 2023 blog post. Fenlon said CBC journalists can use the terms when they are attributed to government officials, authorities, experts or politicians.“CBC News does not itself designate specific groups as terrorists, or specific acts as terrorism,” Fenlon wrote, arguing that the terms can carry significant political and emotional meaning and may affect how journalism is perceived..The CBC has previously faced questions about the same policy in its coverage of Hamas and the October 7, 2023 attacks in Israel.Conservative MP Rachel Thomas called the guidance “shameful,” arguing that avoiding the term terrorism diminishes the significance of the attacks and the experiences of victims, survivors and first responders.The Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs has also criticized the CBC's approach to the terminology, linking the guidance to the broadcaster's broader policy on describing terrorist organizations and acts.The CBC, however, maintains that the policy is not specific to September 11 or any particular political or religious group. The broadcaster says the same standard is applied across its reporting and that journalists can use the terms when they are attributed to an appropriate source.The discussion comes as news organizations prepare coverage of the 25th anniversary of the September 11 attacks.
