The Media Accountability Project  

2024-04-22 Global News makes a change following CJPME letter

On April 16, 2024, CJPME sent a letter to Global News, pushing the media outlet to make changes regarding an article about Canada’s position and Israel’s reaction following Israel’s strike on a World Central Kitchen convoy that killed seven aid workers.

CJPME wrote that the article was misleading by using language that undermines Israel’s actions and responsibility in the situation in Palestine.

CJPME asked Global News to change the words “Israeli citizens” to “Israeli civilians, foreigners, and security forces” as only 695 people of the 1,200 people killed on Oct. 7 were Israeli civilians.

Following our letter, Global News changed the words “Israeli citizens” to “people.”

CJPME also asked to challenge Israeli claims that the strike “was a mistake” and that it “punished the military officials it says were responsible.”

CJPME pointed out that Israel knew exactly what it was doing and that the mistake was the failure to kill an alleged militant and not attack the convoy at all. CJPME also pointed out that a reserve colonel and a major were dismissed from their posts and that three more senior officers were reprimanded. Therefore, the word “punishment” did not feel appropriate in this case at all.

It is disappointing that Global News would not make the changes we asked for and think that we will be satisfied with this bare-minimum change. This only encourages us to be even more persistent in asking for changes from Global News.

2024-04-11 Tri-City News deletes claim that “From the river to the sea” was co-opted by Hamas

On April 11, 2024, writing in Tri-City News, journalist Mario Bartel claimed that the protest chant “From the river to sea, Palestine will be free” had been “co-opted” by Hamas. After a CJPME complaint that pointed out such commentary was inappropriate in a news article, as well as it being reductive and inaccurate, the article was corrected.

While this inflammatory and misleading remark was removed, the article still alleges that this chant “has come to sew fear in Jewish communities around the world.” Given that the slogan is widely used by Jewish groups around the world, this comment remains unfair and violates journalistic standards. CJPME is committed to challenging one-sided and harmful portrayals of peaceful protesters in Canada’s media.

2024-04-11 Toronto Star and the Waterloo Region Record publish CJPME letters to the editor

On April 11, 2024, two different CJPME letters to the editor were published in the Toronto Star and the Waterloo Region Record that challenged problematic op-eds.

In the Toronto Star, Michael Levitt of the Friends of Simon Wiesenthal Centre wrote a piece bashing pro-Palestine protesters on the day of Eid al-Fitr. You can read CJPME’s response here.

In the Waterloo Region Record, Robert Walker of Honest Reporting Canada regurgitated IDF talking points without any real depth or insight. You can read CJPME’s response here.

2024-04-05 Globe and Mail’s Standards Editor resolves false claim with weak, passive language

On April 5, 2024, CJPME learned that Globe and Mail’s Standards Editor, Sandra E. Martin, resolved issues with her article following a CJPME complaint. The article false claimed that “Gaza” was limiting journalists’ access to the region. Not only is Gaza not a government, it is Israel who is limiting access to journalists.

Unfortunately, her correction uses passive language and does not identify Israel as being responsible for denying Gaza a free press. CJPME has expressed its dissatisfaction with the change, but is glad the falsehood was resolved nonetheless.

2024-04-04 The Coast promptly makes requested edits to a recent article

2024-04-02 Bradford Today makes change following CJPME letter

On March 14, 2024, CJPME sent a letter to Bradford Today, pushing the media outlet to make a change regarding an article about a censorship accusation against the Bradford library that canceled a film screening.

CJPME challenged the following sentence: “The film is a fictional drama about a Palestinian man named Mustafa, whose wife and children live in two Palestinian villages in the West Bank which are 200 metres apart and separated by the Israeli boarder wall.”

CJPME argued that the “Israeli border wall” in the West Bank, to which the article refers, deviates from the Green Line to encompass several settlements, thereby failing to reflect Israel’s initial borders.  

CJPME suggested terms like “Apartheid Wall” or “Annexation Wall” to be more accurate.

Following our letter, Bradford Today informed us that in a subsequent article about the same issue, they used the term: “Israeli barrier wall.”

This is a considerable change since Canadian media outlets tend to not mention or accurately describe Israel’s illegal occupation of Palestinian land.

2024-04-01 Grand Forks Gazette makes all requested edits to a recent article

On April 1, CJPME learned that Grand Forks Gazette made all requested edits in a news article about a peace conference in Grand Forks. CJPME requested that the glaring factual errors related to the number of people killed and taken captive on Oct. 7 be edited. Before the article read:

Saturday marked roughly 170 days of Israel’s war on Gaza, following the Oct. 7 attack by Hamas miliants at an outdoor music festival, which killed 1,600 Israeli citizens and 300 more taken hostage. Since then, it is estimated that more than 30,000 Palestinians have been killed with about half of those children.

Now, the article reads:

Saturday marked roughly 170 days of Israel’s war on Gaza, following the Oct. 7 attack by Hamas miliants at an outdoor music festival, which killed 1,200 people killed and around 240 taken hostage. Among the casualties were Isreali soldiers, civilians and foreigners. Since then, it is estimated that more than 30,000 Palestinians have been killed with about half of those children.

A report from Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs cited social security data that showed that of the total death toll, 695 of those killed were Israeli civilians. The others were security forces and foreigners. There are also reports of Israeli civilians being killed by friendly fire on Oct.7, including a house in Kibbutz Be’eri getting shelled by a tank, leaving 12 Israelis dead.

CJPME greatly appreciates these thorough edits!

2024-03-27 CBC News Manitoba promptly edited obscure wording in recent article

On March 27, CJPME learned that CBC News Manitoba had made some changes to their article about the Mennonite Central Committee sending food to Gaza. The article repeatedly referred to the starvation crisis in Gaza as “food insecurity.” Some examples of their obscure wording can be found in the original letter addressed to the editors at CBC Manitoba. In one case, the term “food insecure” was removed from the article. In the other, CBC adjusted their wording:

The organization has five more shipments planned as the region continues to struggle with rising levels of hunger, in the wake of the war that began Oct. 7.

While CBC Manitoba did not make all our requested edits, we appreciate their prompt mitigation of poor word choice. 

2024-03-26 Globe and Mail’s landing page for “Israel-Hamas War” has finally been edited

On March 26, CJPME learned that the Globe and Mail had finally made the edits requested on their landing page for the “Israel-Hamas War.” Before CJPME’s complaints, the description of the “Israel-Hamas War” on the Globe and Mail’s landing page read:

On Oct. 7 a surprise attack by militant group Hamas left around 1,200 Israelis dead, and hundreds were taken hostage. Israel responded with air strikes and a ground campaign in the Gaza Strip that has killed thousands.

As written in CJPME’s letter to the outlet, reciting the precise death toll for those killed in Israel but opting for “thousands” to describe the Palestinian death toll is blatantly disrespectful. The Standards Editor at The Globe emphasized that the descriptive copy at the top of topic pages cannot be updated frequently and is written in such a way as to allow it to remain static. She did, however, agree to update the number of casualties exceptionally. The description now reads:

On Oct. 7 a surprise attack by militant group Hamas left around 1,200 Israelis dead, and hundreds were taken hostage. Israel responded with air strikes and a ground campaign in the Gaza Strip that has killed tens of thousands.

While this is not the edit we hoped for, we recognize The Globe’s inability to keep the number of casualties updated and appreciate their willingness to concede to our demands.

2024-03-22 Globe and Mail publishes Letter to the Editor by CJPME President

On March 22, 2023, the Globe and Mail published a letter to the editor by CJPME President Thomas Woodley. Writing in response to an op-ed that argued the NDP’s motion on Palestine was “meaningless,” Woodley argued that “in the convoluted world of Canadian politics” the motion still have significance.

You can read the letter in its entirety here.

 

2024-03-22 CBC News edits title of segment following our complaints

On March 15, 2024, CJPME sent a letter to CBC News, pushing the media outlet to make some changes in a segment about the group of Israelis blockading humanitarian aid from entering Gaza. Originally titled “Israeli civilians protest Gaza aid deliveries,” the segment presents the blockaders as harmless and benevolent, which is entirely inappropriate considering the nature of their acts.

The Israelis are not “protesting” humanitarian aid entering Gaza, they are actively blockading humanitarian aid from entering Gaza. While CJPME made several demands, which can be found in the original letter sent to CBC’s team, the outlet just opted to change the word “protest” to “target” and edit the title to “Israeli protestors target Gaza aid deliveries.” 

2024-03-20 Global News claims arrested far-right Rebel News reporter was a “pro-Palestine protestor,” CJPME prompts sweeping correction

On March 19, 2024, CJPME sent a letter to Global News, pushing the media outlet to change a headline on a story about a pro-Palestine demonstration outside the King Edward Hotel for a fundraiser event for the Liberal Party that Justin Trudeau was attending.

The video title and caption were misleading, as it claimed that two pro-Palestine protesters were arrested at a demonstration. One of the arrested was David Menzies, a reporter for Rebel News, a far-right media outlet.

Following our letter, Global News changed the video title to: “Israel-Gaza: 2 arrested at pro-Palestinian protest in Toronto outside Trudeau event.” The previous title was: “Israel-Gaza: Toronto police arrest at least 2 pro-Palestinian protesters outside Trudeau event.”

Global News changed this line in the video abstract: “Toronto police arrested at least two demonstrators at a pro-Palestinian protest outside a fundraiser for Prime Minister Justin Trudeau at the King Edward Hotel on Friday.” The new line is: “Toronto police arrested at least two people during a pro-Palestinian protest outside a fundraiser for Prime Minister Justin Trudeau at the King Edward Hotel on Friday.”

CJPME also asked Global News to provide details about the situation in Gaza as it would help viewers make more sense of the intentions behind the pro-Palestine protests and protesters.

Global News added this line to the video abstract: “Israel has denied accusations of genocide in its campaign against Hamas. In January, Israel insisted at the United Nations’ highest court that its conflict in Gaza was a legitimate defence of its people and said instead that Hamas was guilty of genocide.”

Finally, Global News sent a notice to MCN and Yahoo, which broadcasted the same video.

These are considerable changes since Canadian media outlets tend to depict pro-Palestine protests and protesters violently and negatively. These changes contribute to slowly shifting this bias.

2024-03-15 Vancouver Sun issues correction following our demands

On March 15, CJPME learned that the Vancouver Sun corrected an article following a CJPME complaint. In an article about how a children’s tent at a rally for Gaza has supported Palestinian-Canadian parents, Denise Ryan wrote the following:

Sama said that when Israel invaded Gaza following the Oct. 7 Hamas terrorist attack that killed 1,200 people in Israel, Yafa knew something was happening.

CJPME wrote a letter to the journalist and the editor-in-chief asking whether Sama called it a terrorist attack in her testimony or whether the journalist made this moral judgment herself. If Sama called it a terrorist attack in her own testimony, then that needs to be made clear by putting those words in quotation marks. In any other case, the Hamas attacks should not be broadly labeled as “terroristic” in a news article. Further, despite the article providing readers with the Israeli death toll, no information regarding how many Palestinians have been killed by Israel was included. After the Deputy Editor of the Vancouver Sun admitted that the reporter was working within a limited word count, they opted to remove the portion about Hamas’ attack, as well as the Israeli death toll, to avoid imbalanced reporting. The sentence now reads:

Sama said that when Israel invaded Gaza after October 7, Yafa knew something was happening.

CJPME appreciates the Vancouver Sun’s prompt response and willingness to make corrections to their published articles.

2024-03-13 Global News makes changes in an article following CJPME letter

On March 7, 2024, CJPME sent a letter to Global News, pushing the media outlet to make some changes regarding an article about Selina Robinson quitting the NDP caucus.

CJPME wrote that the article failed to highlight how controversial and racist her comments were and failed to provide Palestinian voices.

Global News wrote: “the land upon which Israel was founded” in the video caption.

CJPME argued that the land that they are referring to is Palestine, both from a modern-day perspective and a historical perspective. By describing this territory as “the land upon which Israel was founded,” the article is erasing the history of Palestinians and their land, which reinforces Robinson’s anti-Palestinian comments.

CJPME asked Global News to replace the words: “the land upon which Israel was founded” with “Palestine.”

Following our letter, Global News:

• changed the words: “the land upon which Israel was founded” to “Israel”
• added comments from the BC Muslim Association: “In reaction to Robinson’s remark, the BC Muslim Association said her comment was “derogatory,” and asked her to acknowledge she has engaged in “a pattern of Islamophobia and anti-Palestinian racism.””
• Added an editor’s note: “Editor’s note: This story has been updated to provide additional context and balance.”

While changing the words to “Israel” is not the change CJPME hoped for, this small change will push CJPME to further its effort in asking media outlets to use the word Palestine.

Adding a Palestinian perspective is also encouraging as it is, in a way, preventing media from partaking in anti-Palestinian racism, another issue CJPME is fighting for.

2024-03-12 CBC News issues correction following our insistent demands

On March 11, CJPME learned that CBC News made corrections and additions to an article following a CJPME complaint. In an article about a Quebec court temporarily prohibiting protests near Jewish institutions in Montreal published on March 6, Sabrina Jonas and Isaac Olson wrote the following:

The Montreal chapter of Independent Jewish Voices, one of the defendants in the injunction, organized a protest against an Israel real estate event, claiming it marketed property in the West Bank, where over two million Palestinians live under Israel's military occupation, according to the United Nations (UN).

On March 8, CJPME wrote to the journalists and standards editor at CBC, asking why it was not made clear that Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank are illegal and forbidden under international law. We also asked that the territories CBC refers to be explicitly preceded by “occupied.” CBC News added this sentence to its article:

The UN, alongside Canada, consider Israeli settlements in the occupied territories to be in violation of international convention, with the federal government saying they “constitute a serious obstacle to achieving a comprehensive, just and lasting peace.”

CJPME appreciates this adjustment made by CBC News to make their article more accurate

2024-03-11 CBC makes changes in an article following CJPME letter

On March 11, 2024, CJPME sent a letter to CBC News, pushing the media outlet to make a change regarding an article about the reaction of Muslims fasting during Ramadan to the genocide in Gaza.

CJPME wrote that the article did not give an accurate and complete picture of the situation in Gaza, which Israel has inflicted.

CBC News wrote: “due to weeks of aid being limited in the region.”

CJPME argued that aid is not being limited in the region, it is being blocked by Israel and that such words tend to undermine Israel’s actions and responsibility.

CJPME asked CBC News to replace the words: “aid being limited in the region” with “aid being blocked by Israel in the region.”

Following our letter, CBC News added the following sentence: “Aid groups say Israel's near-total blockade of Gaza and the fighting have made it nearly impossible to deliver aid.”

This is a considerable change since it helps readers understand Israel’s responsibility behind the starvation of Gazans.

2024-03-11 CBC News issues correction following our insistent demands

On March 11, CJPME learned that CBC News made corrections to an article following two CJPME complaints. In an article about the Canadian government’s response to Israel’s assault on Gaza, Raffy Boudjikanian initially wrote the following:

Months of violence have followed the events of Oct. 7, when Hamas militants attacked Israel, killed approximately 1,200 people, and took roughly 250 others hostage, according to Israeli accounts. Since then, Israeli strikes have killed approximately 29,000 people, according to Gaza’s Hamas-led health authority.

On March 1, CJPME wrote to the journalist and the standards editor at CBC, saying that the term “Israeli strikes” obfuscates the scale of Israel’s military campaign in Gaza. Palestinians are being killed by airstrikes, gunshots, and tanks, as well as fatal conditions that have caused death from lack of medicine, starvation, dehydration, and malnutrition. After a week without a response, CJPME sent a follow-up email demanding an immediate correction. The sentence in question now reads:

Since then, the Israeli campaign has killed approximately 29,000 people, according to Gaza’s Hamas-led health authority.

We appreciate CBC updating this article for clarity.

2024-03-11 Victoria News makes a change in an article following CJPME letter

On March 7, 2024, CJPME sent a letter to Victoria News, pushing the media outlet to make some changes regarding an article about Selina Robinson quitting the NDP caucus.

CJPME wrote that the article failed to highlight how controversial and racist her comments were.

Victoria News wrote: “After she called pre-1948 Israel a “crappy piece of land with nothing on it.””

CJPME argued that the land that they are referring to is Palestine, both from a modern-day perspective and a historical perspective. By describing this territory as “pre-1948 Israel,” the article is erasing the history of Palestinians and their land, which reinforces Robinson’s anti-Palestinian comments.

CJPME asked Victoria News to replace the words: “pre-1948 Israel” with “Palestine.”

Following our letter, Victoria News changed the words: “Pre-1948 Israel” with “the British-ruled Mandate upon which Israel was founded in 1948.”

It is not the change CJPME hoped for, but this small change still nuances Israel’s existence before 1948 and will push CJPME to further its effort in asking media outlets to use the word Palestine.

2024-03-08 City News Montreal makes some changes in an article following CJPME letter

On March 6, 2024, CJPME sent a letter to City News Montreal, pushing the media outlet to make some changes regarding an article about a protest in Montreal to an event hosting a panel of IOF members. We asked them to make it more accurate and precise.

CJPME wrote that the article had a misleading headline, didn’t use the correct terms to properly assess who the guests of the event were, did not mention who the organizers of the event were, and could have added voices from the protesters themselves and mentioned who the organizers of the protest were.

CJPME asked City News Montreal to add the words “hosting Israel occupation forces members” after the words “Israel speaking tour event” to the headline.

City News Montreal changed the words “Israel speaking tour” to “IDF speaking tour.”

CJPME asked City News Montreal to change the words “three Israeli advocates” to “three members of Israel’s occupation forces.”

City News Montreal changed the words “three Israeli advocates” to “three Israel Defence Forces (IDF) reservists.”

CJPME asked to change the words “Montreal’s Jewish community” to include the exact name of the event organizers: “Montreal’s Jewish community and DiploAct.”

City News Montreal added this sentence: “It was organized by Startup Nation, DiploAct and Hillel Concordia, per the poster.”

These changes were important to set the record straight on how controversial the event was and to not further mislead City News Montreal readers.

2024-03-06 Hill Times publishes CJPME LTE

On February 27, 2024, CJPME sent an LTE to the Hill Times in response to Aisha Sherazi’s February 26 opinion piece: “Our shared vision feels like it is crumbling.”

The LTE was published on March 4, 2024, in the Hill Times, and echoes Sherazi’s concern that, in its failure to uphold international human rights in Palestine-Israel, Canada attributes greater value to white lives over BIPOC lives.  You can read the complete unedited version here.

It is always highly encouraging to see CJPME’s LTEs getting published in the Hill Times as it contributes to influence policymakers in Canada about issues surrounding Palestine.

2024-02-28 Waterloo Region Record issues corrections following our insistent demands

On February 28, CJPME learned that the Waterloo Region Record made corrections to an article following a CJPME complaint. This article was about the escalation of anti-Palestinian racism in schools within the Waterloo Region School District. Despite the subject of the article– the prominence of APR– being highly appreciated by CJPME, there were a couple of instances of anti-Palestinian racism subtly embedded within it.

Initially, the article read:

The overall Palestinian death toll from the war in Gaza has now surpassed 28,000, according to reports from the Health Ministry in Gaza this week. This comes after Hamas militants killed about 1,200 Israelis and foreigners on Oct. 7, and abducted around 250 people, mostly civilians.

After complaining to the author and editor that this paragraph dehumanizes Palestinians by using active language for Israelis and not Palestinians, as well as not citing Israel as the source of information for the Israeli death toll, Waterloo Region Record edited the paragraph to:

Israel’s military campaign in Gaza has killed more than 28,000 Palestinians, according to reports from the Health Ministry in Gaza this week. This comes after Hamas militants killed about 1,200 Israelis and foreigners on Oct. 7, and abducted around 250 people, mostly civilians, according to Israeli officials. 

In one of their paragraphs, Williams wrote: “Since the latest Israeli-Palestinian conflict began in October…” Given the fact that the “conflict” did not begin in October and the word “conflict” falsely implies a power symmetry between the two parties involved, CJPME recommended that the beginning of this sentence simply be amended to “Since Oct. 7.” Now, the sentence reads: “Since Oct. 7, the Coalition of Muslim Women of K-W has been documenting the rise in specific anti-Palestine racism in the school board.”

We appreciate both Waterloo Region Record’s response to our complaints and their willingness to publish articles regarding anti-Palestinian racism and strategies to combat it with the Waterloo Region School District.  

2024-02-28 Hill Times publishes a letter written by a CJPME analyst

On February 28, Hill Times ran a letter written by CJPME analyst Rose Mardikian. Initially, Rose sent this as a letter criticizing this article that the use of the word “terrorism” to describe Hamas’ actions on Oct. 7 insinuated a moral judgment, which is not appropriate for a news article. While the editor remained steadfast and insisted that no changes would be made to the article, she requested an abridged version to publish as a letter to the editor. In “Avoid language that casts ‘moral judgments’ in news stories,” Rose Mardikian argues that referring to Hamas as a terrorist organization or labeling all their actions on October 7 as acts of “terror” or “terrorism” is not accurate and casts a moral judgment. While Israel’s actions both before and after Oct. 7 undoubtedly qualify as terrorism, to label one group as terrorists and not the other is a blatant double standard that favors Israel.

For Hill Times editors to continue publishing our work demonstrates CJPME’s growing legitimacy and influence in public discourse.

2024-02-27 CBC and the Hill Times correct an article following CJPME letters

On February 23 and February 27, 2024, CJPME sent letters to CBC and the Hill Times to ask for a word change that undermined the magnitude and scope of a call from Canada’s Muslim community for stronger action regarding Israel’s genocide in Gaza.

CBC wrote, “Several local congregations are warning members of Parliament they won't be welcome in their mosques …”

Hill Times wrote, "Several prominent mosques calling on MPs to back an immediate ceasefire in the region…”

CJPME pointed out that the word “several” undermines how widespread the call is as it came from 300 Muslim institutions and mosques.

CJPME asked to change the word “several” to the exact number (300) or to a word that better reflects how widespread and momentous the call was.

On February 26, 2024, following our letter, CBC changed the word “several” to “numerous.”

On February 27, 2024, following our letter, the Hill Times changed the word “several” to “300 Muslim institutions and mosques.”

This small change is a step towards pushing media outlets to be more accurate when reporting on the Muslim support for stronger actions from Canada regarding Israel’s genocide in Gaza.

2024-02-23 National Post will be asked to identify “analysis” articles as “opinion” articles following CJPME NNC case

On December 5, 2023, CJPME sent a complaint to the NNC regarding a November 4, 2023, National Post (NP) opinion piece purporting to “debunk lies about the State of Israel.”  The piece was identified as “analysis” by the NP, but CJPME considered the piece to be purely opinion.  CJPME’s complaint pushed the newspaper for corrections to the piece or, at the very least, to clearly identify it as an opinion article.

On February 29, 2024, the National NewsMedia Council (NNC) ruled that: “Given that the columnist in this case often writes from a particular perspective, the NNC would support labelling similar content as opinion pieces in the future so as to clearly signal to readers that the piece is distinct from news reporting.”

This is a small step toward holding the National Post accountable and helping readers distinguish between opinion and news.  CJPME will be watching closely for future articles from the same author to ensure that his single-minded dribble in blind defence of Israel is clearly labelled as “opinion” in the future. 

2024-02-23 Hamilton Spectator removes a picture and adds an editor’s note following CJPME letter

On February 23, 2024, CJPME sent a letter to the Hamilton Spectator, pushing the newspaper to remove a picture unrelated to a pro-Palestine rally organized by Oakville-Halton 4 Palestine (OH4P) referenced in an opinion piece.  CJPME also asked for the Spectator to include an apology as an editor’s note.

CJPME pointed out that the op-ed was paired with a xenophobic and fanaticism-intended Getty Image of a November pro-Palestine rally in Glasgow, Scotland, by Jeff J. Mitchell and that bore no relation to the pro-Palestine rally organized by OH4P.

On February 23, 2024, following our letter, Hamilton Spectator removed the photo and added the following editor’s note: NOTE: A Getty Images file photo of a protest rally in Glasgow, Scotland, has been removed from this story.

This small change is a step towards preventing further bias from media outlets against pro-Palestine protesters.

2024-02-19 Toronto Star makes a change and adds an editor’s note following CJPME letter

On February 15, 2024, CJPME sent a letter to the Toronto Star, pushing the newspaper to add more context to accurately and completely describe the intentions of the organizers of the Sunday, February 11, 2024, pro-Palestine rally in Toronto.

CJPME wrote that the article did not even acknowledge the ongoing situation in Gaza, and specifically Rafah amidst Israel’s assault, which was the intention behind the rally.

CJPME asked to balance the article by adding more information about the intentions behind the protest and more context about the situation in Gaza, specifically Rafah.

On February 16, 2024, following our letter, Toronto Star added the following sentence: The protest was organized in opposition to Israel's bombardment of Rafah city in the Gaza Strip on Sunday night. Toronto Star also added an editor’s note. In this editor’s note, Toronto Star specified that the story has been updated to provide more context on the reasons why the rally was held.

This small change helps give a more accurate and complete picture of the Pro-Palestine rally and the organizers’ intentions.

2024-02-19 CTV issues corrections following our insistent demands

On February 19, CJPME learned that CTV News corrected an article following several CJPME complaints. This article was about Selina Robinson’s resignation following her racist comments about Palestine.

The article introduced Selina Robinson’s comments as being about “the region where Israel was founded,” which clearly erases the history of Palestinians and their land. While we initially asked them to describe Robinson’s comments as a reference to Palestine– instead of “the region on which Israel was founded” – they opted to remove “the region.” The sentence now reads: “The B.C. NDP’s minister of post-secondary education is stepping down from her cabinet position, days after sparking widespread outrage by saying Israel was founded on a “crappy piece of land with nothing on it.” Although this is not the edit CJPME was hoping for, we recognize CTV’s attempt. Moreover, the article stated that calls for her resignation were made by “pro-Palestinian groups and others,” but omits any mention of the other groups that supported her resignation. CTV has since added the Jewish Faculty Network to its list of groups in support of her resignation.

Albeit small, these changes mark a small win for CJPME. This article was initially published on February 5^th, and a letter expressing our concerns was promptly emailed on February 6^th. Lacking a response from the author/editors, CJPME launched a MAP Alert for our media responders on February 12^th.  Disappointed by CTV’s continued unresponsiveness, we sent another email on February 15 asking that they promptly make the initially requested edits. 

2024-02-07 CBC makes a change and adds an editor’s note following CJPME letter

On January 30, 2024, CJPME sent a letter to CBC requesting a correction and more balance.

CJPME wrote that the following paragraph is not accurate:

The group Physicians for Human Rights Israel […] published a report in November on the sexual violence based on photos, video and other publicly available online information, as well as its own interviews with eyewitnesses, soldiers and first responders. [emphasis added]

CJPME argued that there were no actual eyewitnesses and to remove the words, as well as its own interviews with eyewitnesses.

On February 7, 2024, following our letter, CBC added the words compiled from various sources and an editor’s note. In this editor’s note, CBC specified that those interviews were compiled from various publicly available sources and not conducted by the group.

This is a significant correction to bring more fairness, balance, and accuracy to Canadian media.

2024-02-07 The Hill Times published a letter by CJPME

On February 7, the Hill Times published a CJPME letter by Rose Mardikian. Her letter, “Op-ed sheds light on unfair immigration policy: CJPME,” thanks Aidan Simardone– an immigration lawyer– for his professional insight on Canada’s racist immigration policies for Gazans with family in Canada.

For Hill Times editors to continue publishing our work demonstrates CJPME’s growing legitimacy and influence in public discourse.

2024-02-02 Media Outlets publish CJPME LTE!

On February 2, 2024, Welland Tribune, Saint Catharines Standard, and Niagara Falls Review published a CJPME LTE.

This CJPME letter was about the Holocaust and ICJ’s ruling amid Israel’s genocidal campaign.

You can read the unedited letter here.

CJPME continues to put a significant emphasis on publishing letters in newspapers around the country.

Publishing pieces like these helps set the record straight on Palestine and Israel’s actions.

That editors continue publishing our work also shows the legitimacy we have built up with newsrooms and our ever-growing influence in the public discourse.