It begs the question, could CTV not have found a neutral and credible expert to interview or did they choose Mr. Varner specifically for his known anti-Iran views, which are also Israel’s?
To the CTV Newsroom,
I am writing about your segment “Iran is ‘not backing down’ as violence in Middle East continues to escalate: expert” which aired on July 13, 2026.
This interview, cheerleading the war on Iran, violated basic journalistic ethics. The guest, Joe Varner, is a fellow of the Exigent Foundation. This association should have been disclosed to the audience but it was not. The Exigent Foundation champions pro-Israel absolutists such as Warren Kinsella and Dahlia Kurtz as two of its many “voices”, in addition to Robert Walker, charged with of 17 counts of mischief by Toronto Police for spray painting “Fuck Gaza” around a Toronto neighbourhood.
Most importantly, the Exigent Foundation is funded by the Israeli government. Failing to disclose this affiliation is a failure of transparency by CTV and this situation is tantamount to foreign interference. Joe Varner took a sponsored trip to Israel and this decision ought to follow him, as it would for someone who took a propaganda trip sponsored by the Kremlin, for example, if they were to speak on your program.
It begs the question, could CTV not have found a neutral and credible expert to interview or did they choose Mr. Varner specifically for his known anti-Iran views, which are also Israel’s?
CTV gave Mr. Varner a platform to misinform viewers and simultaneously demonize Iran. The host did not push back on any of his false claims and in fact agreed with him on several points and set him up to make more false claims. This breaks a fundamental journalistic standard of impartiality.
Some of the many points of misinformation:
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00:45 implies Iran is developing nuclear weapons without evidence. Even according to assessments by the U.S. Congress, the state of Iran’s nuclear program is unclear and should not be presented as fact without evidence.
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At 02:07 Varner says “Iranians have gone out of their way to widen the war again”. Again, Varner frames Iran as the aggressor when it was Israel and the US that started this illegal war. Why isn't that mentioned?
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At 02:25 the anchor repeats Varner's claim that Iran is causing the effort to “widen the war” without offering another perspective or pushing back.
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The Anchor @ 02:30 says “Why would Iran do this, is it a case of triumphalism?" Again this frames Iran as the aggressor which is unfair. The US and Israel started this illegal war on February 28 by assassinating Iran’s supreme leader Khamenei. It also sets up Varner to continue his anti-Iran propaganda.
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At 03:00 the segment shifts into discussing Iran’s “hardliners”, implying that defending a state’s sovereignty is a hardline position, demonizing Iran for defending itself.
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From 03:00 until 04:00 Varner frames Iran’s hardliners as being the primary source of the problem portraying them as actors manipulating everyone for their own interested and omitting their perspective. This is a full minute of speculation without evidence. It is also speculation with an embedded bias that Varner's association with Exigent reveals.
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From 04:18 until 04:48 Varner presents another stretch of speculation without evidence that unsurprisingly frames the Iranians as the problem and the US as the good cop.
I would like to request that CTV find a less biased “expert” in the future with some real credibility on this issue.
I would also suggest the anchor remain impartial in line with journalistic principles and challenge the guest rather than support and embolden him.
Thank you for reading and I look forward to your response.
Jeff Winch