"The absence of scrutiny in reporting Trump’s statements not only misleads viewers but also normalizes a rhetoric that, under international law, constitutes a textbook case of ethnic cleansing as concluded by Human Rights Watch. This is a grave violation of international humanitarian law that should be reported as such."
To the Global News Newsroom,
I’m writing today to express my concern about the dangerous use of language and framing in the news segment that aired on Tuesday, February 11 at 08:15 by Global News Morning Winnipeg (CKND). The segment, reported by Naomi Ruchim, an American working for CBS News, covered Trump’;s comments on Gaza and Hamas, but failed to provide the necessary context, contributing to a misleading narrative.
Firstly, the reporter's casual delivery and sanitized language used in conveying Trump’s claim to “take over” Gaza and “relocate millions of Palestinians” without any pushback or context from the reporter is absolutely shocking. The absence of scrutiny in reporting Trump’s statements not only misleads viewers but also normalizes a rhetoric that, under international law, constitutes a textbook case of ethnic cleansing as concluded by Human Rights Watch. This is a grave violation of international humanitarian law that should be reported as such.
There was also no counter perspective in the report for balance and fairness. Clearly the reporter, and by association Global news, could not be bothered to find another perspective from, for instance, a Palestinian who lives in Gaza and stands to be removed after enduring a 16-month genocide. Such blatant, one-sided reporting also simultaneously dehumanizes Palestinians by completely ignoring their voice - a voice that this story absolutely demands.
This is dangerous and irresponsible journalism that must be corrected on air by Global News immediately. The report violates Global’s own published journalistic standards:“News events and public issues may be analyzed and put into context, as long as commentary or opinion is clearly identified and kept distinct from regular news coverage” and also violates Global’s News Promise: “to be trustworthy and fair.”
Secondly, referring to Hamas as a “terror group” is opinion, not fact. What is your source to justify using this term as fact?
Did you know that the designation of Hamas as a terrorist organization is far from universally accepted? As you can see in the linked map, very few countries in the world recognize Hamas as a terrorist organization. It’s mainly the US and its Western allies (Israel’s supporters) that formally list Hamas as a terrorist organization. Many newsrooms choose to mention that Hamas is a listed terror organization, but it is best practice to attribute the claim appropriately. Global News failed to do so in this segment.
I urge Global News in future reporting to attribute the categorization of Hamas as a terrorist group to specific countries, because it is not a universal stance.
Furthermore, the report omits critical information about evidence that Israel is committing genocide:
- More than 62,000 Palestinians slaughtered, including at least 17,000 children.
- More than 111,000 Palestinians injured.
- The use of torture, forced starvation, dehydration, hypothermia.
- Targeted killing of journalists, health care workers and humanitarian aid workers.
The above bullets are only the short list.
Thank you for reading and I hope you make these important corrections and adhere to journalistic standards in future reporting.
Regards,
Jeff Winch, a volunteer on behalf of Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East (CJPME).