The Media Accountability Project  

Ms. Newman is perfectly free to hold pro-Palestinian advocacy in contempt and to criticize it, but she cannot simply invent or ignore facts and the points raised above warrant the issuance of a clarification.

It is a severe violation of broadcast ethics when a platform is provided for a host and guest that have no idea what they are talking about. Of course they are entitled to their opinions but these must be based in fact, not wild conjecture.

Following a MAP Alert concerning CBC National Radio News Reader Neil Herland's September 21 social media posts, which had made misleading comments about a pro-Palestine protest outside of an arts centre, the Toronto Sun published an article alleging that Herland was pulled off the air by the CBC and may be facing possible disciplinary action. 

The alert called on our supporters to contact the Ethics Commissioner over social media posts by Neil Herland, which breached CBC's Journalistic Standards and Practices, Code of Conduct, and Social Media Guidance. At the time of writing, CJPME has not received a response to our complaint to the Ethics Commissioner.

CJPME also sent a complaint to the CBC Ombud. While we were informed by the Ombud that we can expect a response from the editor-in-chief within twenty working days, we have not yet heard back. 

Herland accused pro-Palestine protesters of trying to “taunt and intimidate” him at a “Toronto synagogue.” Herland noted he was going to see a guest speaker that he described only as “an Australian-born university teacher who lives in Israel and once served as Israeli ambassador to the UK.” However, the event, which included synagogue services, was held at the Meridian Arts Centre, not a synagogue, and the speaker was Mark Regev, a former high-ranking Israeli official known for his alarming views.

We want to thank our grassroots volunteer base who responded to the campaign and helped ensure that CBC heard these concerns. We are grateful that it appears our concerns are being taken seriously by CBC. We hope that there will be an apology and corrective editorial action.

CJPME continues to monitor the situation and developments from CBC's response.

We believe that journalists should be held accountable to professional journalistic standards and ethics.

"In his thread, Herland said he was going to see a 'guest speaker at the Toronto synagogue tonight,' and said the speaker 'was an Australian-born university teacher who lives in Israel and once served as Israeli ambassador to the UK.' He noted that the speaker's 'speech was about making peace in the Middle East.' The truth is that Herland was on his way to the Meridian Arts Centre, which is visible in the video he shared, to see Mark Regev. Regev was not merely an Israeli ambassador, he also served in multiple high-ranking positions in the Israeli government, including as the Prime Minister's Senior Advisor for Foreign Affairs and International Communications and the International Spokesperson for the Prime Minister's Office."

As has been pointed out previously, Hamas is synonymous with terrorism in CBC’s media framing of this conflict. As such, the addition of the “Hamas-run” or “Hamas-led” qualifier is inherently pejorative in intent. By associating the civilian suffering with Hamas, it effectively diverts sympathy away from those people killed and injured, and helps demonize and dehumanize Palestinians.

In the Ombudsman’s view, using the phrase “Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry” is almost always unnecessary, unless a story is specifically related to the relationship between Hamas and its health officials. 

"During the segment, the host asks the candidate wether they would have attended an October 8 'pro-Palestinian, pro-Hamas rally,' adding that many people saw the rally as a justification for the deaths of Israelis on October 7."

All of this is important context that readers ought to be aware of to understand the dynamics at play. Otherwise, as it stands, readers are left without the necessary context to fully understand the implications of the agreement on Lebanon’s sovereignty and for the Lebanese people.

Take as well the alleged sexual assault claims where Israeli officials circulated the unsubstantiated claims that Hamas fighters raped women on October 7th, which again were repeated in almost every single mainstream media headline and were uncritically echoed by President Biden who repeated them on national television. 

However, that distinction does not provide commentators a white card to manufacture facts or present uncorroborated claims as fact. Referring to Palestinian journalists as “so-called” journalists and alleging they are Hamas terrorists are serious claims that require substantiation.