Misleading language in Netanyahu's trial analysis article

"Given that countless experts have “accused” Israel of genocide over the last year, this framing lumps Amnesty’s findings into that pile of accusations. Amnesty’s findings are exceptional, they are a firm conclusion that Israel is committing genocide."


December 11, 2024

To:

Chris Brown, Foreign correspondent, CBC News 

Nancy Waugh, Managing Editor, CBC News

Brodie Fenlon, News Editor in Chief, CBC News

Jack Nagler, Ombudsman, CBC News

Dear CBC team,

On behalf of Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East (CJPME), I would like to express my sincere thanks for your analysis article titled “On 1st day in witness box, Netanyahu switches from divisive wartime leader to defiant accused criminal,” published on December 10, 2024. 

As a media analyst who has been evaluating Canadian media coverage for a while now, I am very happy to see CBC’s fair analysis of Israel’s PM Netanyahu's trialparticularly in highlighting the sufficient evidence suggesting that Israel is committing the gravest of international crimes—genocide—against the Palestinian people.

However, I have a strong recommendation for future reporting. The article mentions that Netanyahu “has also been accused by rights groups, such as Amnesty International, of leading a genocide against Palestinians.” This phrasing does not fairly reflect the definitive language used in Amnesty International’s report.

The report, titled You Feel Like You Are Subhuman’: Israel’s Genocide Against Palestinians in Gaza, finds “sufficient evidence to conclude” that between October 2023 and July 2024, Israel committed “with the specific intent to destroy Palestinians in Gaza at least three prohibited acts under the Genocide Convention, including killing members of the group, causing serious bodily or mental harm, and deliberately inflicting on Palestinians in Gaza conditions of life calculated to bring about their physical destruction in whole or in part.”

The word “accuse” implies a claim that is contested or unproven, but Amnesty International’s carried out a thorough investigation and used the term “conclude” to describe their finding that Israel is committing genocideGiven that countless experts have “accused” Israel of genocide over the last year, this framing lumps Amnesty’s findings into that pile of accusations. Amnesty’s findings are exceptional, they are a firm conclusion that Israel is committing genocide.

When the story broke, CBC used the term “concludes” to describe Amnesty’s findings. The more fair and accurate phrasing, which CBC has already used, would be: “Amnesty International concluded that Israel committed acts amounting to genocide against Palestinians in Gaza.”

This adjustment would ensure the language reflects the seriousness of the findings and adheres to the CAJ’s principle of accuracy, which emphasizes that journalists must convey the original tone and retain the original context of all the material– photos, sounds, or words.

I trust you will address these issues now and in future reporting with the seriousness they warrant.

I look forward to hearing from you. 

Warmest regards,
Lynn Naji
Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East