On January 11, 2024, CJPME learned that CBC corrected an article and headline following a CJPME complaint.
The article was about a pro-Palestine protest, and it included accusations that the protest was targeting a “Jewish neighbourhood.”
CJPME’s Fatima Haidar complained that CBC writing “Jewish neighbourhood” meant taking the biased claims of pro-Israel groups at face value. This smear tactic is being used against pro-Palestine demonstrators across Canada. Pro-Israel groups are trying to portray demonstrators as being antisemitic for protesting in “Jewish neighbourhoods,” but it’s not clear what that even means. The protests this CBC article focused on, in Windsor and Toronto, were both diverse neighbourhoods.
After our complaint, CBC reformulated the sentence this way: “Organizers say they weren't aware they were marching in a neighbourhood considered to be Jewish.”
Similarly, the headline was changed from “Pro-Palestinian march in Jewish neighbourhood sparks criticism from Windsor Jewish Federation” to now reading “Pro-Palestinian march in neighbourhood groups says is historically Jewish sparks criticism.”
This subtle change is hugely important in combatting unfair portrayals of pro-Palestine rallies. Smear campaigns like this are unacceptable and should not be propped up by news media.