CJPME expressed concern to the Canadian Press regarding both its summary of why Israel is facing widespread condemnation, as well as the outlet’s reliance on controversial antisemitism statistics created by B’nai Brith Canada.
The article described B’nai Brith as a “Jewish advocacy group” despite pro-Israel lobbying being a key feature of their work.
The B'nai Brith annual audit notoriously conflates antisemitism and anti-Zionism, leading Independent Jewish Voices (IJV) to describe the report as a "dangerous document that promotes anti-Palestinian racism and misrepresents the important reality of antisemitism in Canada." IJV also asserts that the methodology employed by the B'nai Brith is "sloppy" and says it "lacks transparency and independent verification." IJV's position has been reflected in their past research as well. This year's report is not different from other recent versions.
CJPME also compiled examples of B'nai Brith's problematic audit, you can read our full assessment on why "Journalists Should Question B'nai Brith 'Antisemitism Audit.'"
Following our complaint, the article was updated. The B’nai Brith statistics were replaced by figures from Statistics Canada.
The same article also stated, “Israel has drawn widespread condemnation over its aid restrictions and destruction of infrastructure in Gaza.” CJPME expressed that a summary of condemnation should at least make reference to the massive Palestinian death toll, especially because it was omitted from the piece.
In a subsequent article published by the Toronto Star, the boilerplate text provided by Canadian Press was updated and now reads, “Israel has drawn widespread condemnation over the death toll there, as well as over aid restrictions and the destruction of infrastructure.” CJPME was able to confirm with Toronto Star editors that this updated language came from the Canadian Press directly.
We appreciate the Canadian Press implementing CJPME’s recommendations that are based on journalistic standards and best practices.