"You used the statement of an unidentified bystander to frame the attack as an antisemitic hate crime and incorporated statements from U.S. President Donald Trump and India’s foreign minister—to echo this narrative. While eyewitness accounts can provide valuable perspective, the decision to feature an unnamed source making a highly charged claim without corroboration from authorities raises serious ethical questions."
May 28, 2025
Dear CBC World Report editorial team,
I am writing to express my concerns regarding two recent news segments aired back-to-back on CBC Edmonton (CBXT) — World Report (Thursday, May 22, 2025, 06:00), which demonstrate inconsistent framing, clear bias, and potential breaches of the Canadian Association of Journalists (CAJ) Ethics Guidelines. While I appreciate the need for timely reporting, I believe these segments raise questions about fairness, accuracy, and balance in coverage.
In the first segment, about the shooting at a Jewish Museum in Washington, D.C., you adopted an emotionally charged tone, using dramatic language (“gunned down,” “horrific scene”). The victims are humanized by providing personal details of their lives.
You used the statement of an unidentified bystander to frame the attack as an antisemitic hate crime and incorporated statements from U.S. President Donald Trump and India’s foreign minister—to echo this narrative. While eyewitness accounts can provide valuable perspective, the decision to feature an unnamed source making a highly charged claim without corroboration from authorities raises serious ethical questions.
Furthermore, India’s far-right government have absolutely nothing to do with the shooting or the situation in Gaza. Including a statement from a government whose laws and policies have systematically discriminated against Muslims and whose leaders have been accused of inciting genocide against Muslims shows a clear bias and a lack of balance in your coverage.
Meanwhile, there was no context provided about the current situation in Gaza or the fact that Israel’s is using starvation as a weapon of war and committing what the ICJ has called a plausible genocide, which could provide some balance if you are going to link this to Palestine solidarity.
In stark contrast, the second segment about a shooting in the occupied West Bank targeting a diplomatic delegation, including some Canadians, the coverage was detached and neutral. You state that “shots were fired near the delegation,” despite video evidence circulating showing IDF soldiers pointing their guns directly at the diplomats and people running for their lives to take cover under heavy artillery fire. Your coverage doesn’t describe the scene of the attack at all. No details were provided about the victims, or statements from them or any representatives of the other countries involved.
As we’ve seen time and again in Western media, the Israeli military’s statement is provided and accepted as fact and legitimized as an excuse without scrutiny. This is despite Israel’s documented history of lying about their actions and intentions.
According to CBC’s own code of ethics, accuracy and fairness demand that all claims be presented with equal skepticism. And, yet here we have seen two cases where sources that cannot be trusted are accepted as fact and used to put forward a narrative that suits the Israeli narrative.
In addition, there is a clear double standard going on here in terms of how you report events of similar nature depending on the narrative they support.
Ethical journalism requires rigorous fact-checking, fairness, and transparency, especially when covering sensitive events. I hope you will consider these concerns to maintain public trust in your reporting.
Thank you for your time and attention to this matter. I would appreciate a response outlining any steps taken to address these issues.
Sincerely,
Nikki Mutch
Volunteer
Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East