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 Poor coverage – Media outlet to be critiqued
A CJPME Media Researcher has launched a media alert for the following article. Please submit a quick response to the media, even if it’s just a sentence or two:
Title of Piece: Bryan Passifiume: Answers sought after anti-Israel marchers intimidate Jewish neighbourhood
Media Outlet: The Toronto Sun
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Reminder: When using CJPME’s Media Alert system, please ensure your feedback aligns with our Terms of Participation. Focus on highlighting violations of journalistic standards and ethics. Refrain from using abusive, hateful, or disrespectful language.
Comments of the CJPME Media Researcher:
(Note: Please do not copy and paste the material below as the content to your message to the media - put all comments in your own words):
This article is an example of anti-Palestinian racism and one-sided reporting by Bryan Passifiume, a reporter who has boasted of his trips to Israel, which are sponsored by pro-Israel lobby groups. Passifiume vilifies pro-Palestinian demonstrators as “intimidators,” conflates anti-Zionism with antisemitism, and relies on footage from a right-wing influencer without disclosure. Join our collective media advocacy efforts to hold Postmedia accountable for spreading disinformation that endangers the right to protest for Palestinian human rights.
- Palestinian solidarity demonstrators are portrayed as “masked thugs” and “intimidators,” without a single Palestinian or pro-Palestinian voice quoted. Although these demonstrators have the freedom to protest their frustrations with the ongoing genocide in Gaza, the article conflates their criticisms of Israel and Zionism with antisemitism. The story does this by relying entirely on biased sources such as B’nai Brith Canada, former Israeli Ambassador Vivian Bercovici, and the Toronto Police.
- Conflations like this that perpetuate harmful narratives, equating Palestine solidarity with antisemitism, is a clear example of anti-Palestinian racism, as defined by the Arab Canadian Lawyers Association and the federal government through the Canadian Guide to Understanding and Combating Islamophobia.
- The Sun further compromises its journalistic integrity by using photos and video from right-wing social media influencer Caryma Sa’d without any disclosure of her background or political agenda.
- Although Ms. Sa’d is a licensed lawyer, she is not affiliated with any recognized media institution and has no formal journalistic credentials. More importantly, her credibility has been seriously undermined by multiple incidents of alleged misconduct, including harassment, stalking a journalist and associating herself with alt-right personalities. The Canadian Anti-Hate Network (CAHN) has publicly condemned Ms. Sa’d for what they describe as a campaign of harassment and discriminatory conduct, including targeting their staff at their homes and identifying nearby Jewish businesses in a video post, an act deemed antisemitic by the Law Society of Ontario.
- Given this record, it is shocking that the Sun is presenting Ms. Sa’d as a credible, neutral authority on public safety and protest dynamics. By citing her material without context, the tabloid misleads readers and normalizes extremist narratives.
- The Toronto Sun is a member of the National NewsMedia Council is expected to respect basic journalistic standards and make corrections when they fall short. If you are unhappy with the outlet's response to your complaint, NNC complaints can be filed here.
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