"I urge your newsroom to correct your reporting on the escalations between the two countries. Future coverage must include balanced sourcing, critical context, and the perspectives of those most affected by the violence, particularly Iranian civilians. Failing to do so makes your coverage an opinion piece and not a credible journal article."
June 17, 2025
Dear Mr. McSheffrey, Mr. Passifiume and Ms. Batra,
I am writing on behalf of Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East (CJPME) regarding the article Israel's ambassador to Canada calls on G7 leaders to act on Iran threat that was published on June 17, 2025 in both the Elliot Lake Standard and the Toronto Sun.
Your report fails to meet basic journalistic standards of balance in several aspects but I will focus on two of them.
The article solely relies on the claims of two pro-Israel voices: Iddo Moed, the Israel ambassador to Canada and Arsen Ostrovsky, a representative of the International Legal Forum. The International Legal Forum is a network of lawyers standing up for Israel and fighting terror, antisemitism and BDS. Where are the perspectives of Iranian or independent international human rights organizations? Is it any surprise that Ambassador Moed and Mr. Ostrovsky would make unsubstantiated claims describing Israel’s attack as “a necessary and lawful act of preemptive self defense against a regime … on the verge of obtaining nuclear warheads?”
Furthermore, your article fails to provide the deaths, injuries and targeted areas for both Israel and Iran. Israeli airstrikes in the past few days have targeted the capital city of Tehran and at least five other Iranian cities, with strikes on nuclear infrastructure as well as residential buildings. AP reporting states that 224 Iranians have been killed since Israel’s attack began Friday. Over 1,277 Iranians have also been hospitalized and over 90 per cent of the casualties are civilians. This context was completely missing from your article and represents a double standard.
Your single viewpoint reporting reinforces a one-sided Israeli narrative that minimizes the human cost of the war for Iranian civilians. It completely ignores the statement by the International Atomic Energy Agency that the only sustainable path forward—for Iran, for Israel, the entire region, and the international community—is one grounded in dialogue and diplomacy.
I urge your newsroom to correct your reporting on the escalations between the two countries. Future coverage must include balanced sourcing, critical context, and the perspectives of those most affected by the violence, particularly Iranian civilians. Failing to do so makes your coverage an opinion piece and not a credible journal article.
Sincerely,
Debbie Hubbard
CJPME: Okanagan
Kelowna, British Columbia