"The CAJ requires journalists to distinguish between assertions and facts. Bell provided a straightforward technical explanation for the notification that nullifies the claims made by your interviewee."
To the National Post editorial newsroom,
I am writing to you on behalf of Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East (CJPME) regarding your sensationalist article titled “Canadian received Bell Canada text saying 'Welcome to Palestine' while visiting Jerusalem.”I believe that this article violates basic journalistic standards of accuracy.
The entire article is built on the personal complaint of one anonymous traveler in West Jerusalem who was offended to receive a roaming notification that read “Welcome to Palestine.” This is reported as a scandal, yet your own reporting contradicts any suggestion that the text was some kind of a political statement. The clarification provided by Bell, included only at the very bottom of your story, clearly explains that international roaming welcome messages are “automatically triggered when a mobile device connects to a network tower in a new region.” Many Canadians will be familiar with this phenomenon while travelling near the United States border.
Even worse, in the absence of a substantive story to tell, the article allows the interviewee to talk about Palestine as a "non-existent country" whose goal is to eliminate Jewish people.
This is pure sensationalism.The CAJ requires journalists to distinguish between assertions and facts. Bell provided a straightforward technical explanation for the notification that nullifies the claims made by your interviewee.
Furthermore, according to the Quebec Press Council's Guide of Journalism Ethics on sensationalism, exaggerating or misinterpreting the significance of reported events is prohibited.
The article's framing transforms an automated roaming notification into a story about the alleged political statement about Israel.
At a minimum, Bell’s explanation ought to be pushed to the beginning of the article so that readers have the full understanding of what actually happened.
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Media Analyst
