CBC executives advised journalists to avoid using the term “terrorist” in coverage of Palestinian violence, citing its political sensitivity, according to a newly released internal letter.The 2023 letter by George Achi, then CBC’s director of journalism standards, explained the broadcaster’s reluctance to label attackers as terrorists. Per Blacklock's Reporter, he told one viewer that words like “terrorism” and “resistance” were “highly politicized” and that CBC preferred to use them only with attribution. The letter, disclosed Friday by CBC Ombudsman Maxime Bertrand, was written months before Hamas killed and kidnapped civilians in Israel on October 7, 2023, including eight Canadians.Bertrand defended the approach, saying CBC must choose its words “carefully” in complex conflicts. CBC policy, she wrote, does not originate such terms but may report them if attributed to a source..Days after the October 7 attacks, Achi issued a directive ordering newsroom staff not to describe Hamas gunmen as “terrorists.” CBC records show that in previous years the network routinely referred to Hamas as a “terrorist group,” as designated by Canada in 2002.The decision became a flashpoint in Parliament. Conservative MP Rachael Thomas told the Commons heritage committee the broadcaster was “taking a side” by avoiding the term, describing the October 7 massacre — which killed about 1,400 people — as beyond moral ambiguity.CBC received 4,785 viewer complaints in 2023, up 45% from the previous year, with most tied to its coverage of the Hamas attacks and Israel’s military response in Gaza. Then-Ombudsman Jack Nagler later said the network’s reporting left “room for improvement,” citing language that portrayed the killings as a “surprise attack by Hamas militants” without graphic context.The release of Achi’s letter followed complaints from Honest Reporting Canada, whose editor accused CBC of “whitewashing” Palestinian violence even before October 7.
