"Such unbalanced journalistic framing exposes the hypocrisy of Western media and governments - offering performative nods to international law and human rights while actively enabling Israel's unimpeded commission of war crimes and collective punishment against Palestinians."
May 15, 2025
Dear Redmond Shannon and Nathen Sekhon,
I am writing to formally protest Global TV’s recent segment on Gaza’s food shortages (aired May 15, 2025, 8:43 a.m.), which dangerously obscures Israel’s culpability while uncritically amplifying its disproven propaganda. This coverage constitutes multiple violations of the Canadian Association of Journalists (CAJ) Ethics Guidelines that require immediate correction and quite frankly higher standards in future coverage.
The segment’s assertion that: “Israel says it struck Hamas and Islamic Jihad militants... after warning residents to leave” breaches several core journalistic principles.
By platforming Israeli claims without noting their documented history of falsehoods, you actively mislead readers. You omit that several independent investigations (including Sky News’ recent forensic debunking of Israel’s claims about attacking the European Hospital) have repeatedly disproven Israeli assertions about military goals and outcomes, including the presence of Hamas in bombed areas.
According to a recent investigation by the Israeli outlet HaMakom HaKhi Ham, Israel admitted that 82% of Palestinians in Gaza killed in March were civilians. Such admissions show how unreliable Israeli military claims about Hamas targets are.
Simply put, “Israel says” is not journalism.
The report refers to people who have been displaced several times as residents. This is after 586 days and 100,000 tons of explosives have destroyed almost all civilian infrastructure and rendered Gaza unlivable. This language fails to note that Israel’s so-called “warnings” are meaningless when Gaza has no safe zones (as confirmed by UN reports showing 1.9 million displaced persons).
The segment host states that: “There is some hope the devastating humanitarian crisis could improve with news of an agreement to expand aid operations in Gaza by the end of the month, which Israel has blocked for over two months.”
While I applaud you for pointing out that Israel is blocking aid from getting into Gaza, the segment doesn’t go far enough in highlighting that depriving a population of food as a weapon of war is a war crime. It should also be pointed out that high-ranking Israeli officials, including Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, and Energy Minister Israel Katz have made public statements since October 7, 2023 expressing their aim to deprive civilians in Gaza of food, water and fuel – statements reflecting a policy being carried out by Israeli forces.
The segment’s reference to “pressure on Israel to stop its war” is profoundly misleading. It ignores the International Court of Justice’s (ICJ) ruling that Israel’s actions plausibly constitute genocide, as well as UN experts’ classification of its starvation campaign as a war crime. The term “war” also falsely implies parity between a nuclear-armed occupying power and an occupied population under siege.
The segment’s sourcing demonstrates clear bias:
- It quotes Prime Minister Netanyahu’s inflammatory “murderous Islamist terrorist organization” slur in both audio and a visual quote bubble.
- While providing weak critiques from figures, like Macron’s “shameful” or Anita Anand’s “unacceptable” remarks as a counterpoint.
Such unbalanced journalistic framing exposes the hypocrisy of Western media and governments - offering performative nods to international law and human rights while actively enabling Israel's unimpeded commission of war crimes and collective punishment against Palestinians.
Lastly, you mislabel IDF soldier Edan Alexander as a “hostage”. Under international law, he is considered a prisoner of war. Your audience deserves to hear that Edan had been actively participating in the unlawful occupation of the unarmed civilian Palestinian population.
This segment barely passes as journalism—it is complicity in genocide. I await your written commitment to providing more fair and accurate coverage in accordance with CAJ guidelines.
Sincerely,
Nikki Mutch
Volunteer
Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East