The Media Accountability Project  

Following public pressure via a Media Alert campaign by CJPME, Orillia Matters has removed a deeply concerning letter to the editor that was heavily riddled with anti-Palestinian racism.

This editorial decision comes after the CJPME MAP team pointed out that the letter contained numerous factual inaccuracies and harmful rhetoric such as framing Palestinian rights supporters as terrorist sympathizers.

CJPME also expressed concerns about the letter’s use of orientalist and anti-Palestinian language, including phrases like “pro-Hamas supporters” when referring to pro-Palestinian activists, the inaccurate assertion that Palestinians celebrated violence against civilians and the false claim that the Gaza health ministry doesn’t distinguish between civilians and militants.

Orillia Matters ultimately removed the letter, responding to CJPME’s Media Analyst, Anthony Issa, with the message:

“Hi. Thank you for your email. The letter has been removed because it does not meet our editorial standards. I apologize.

Sincerely,

Dave Dawson, Community Editor.”

While this action demonstrates Orillia Matters’ partial commitment to editorial standards, CJPME questions the decision to publish the letter in the first place as it was so staunchly racist. CJPME expects that this outcome prompts Orillia Matters to reflect on its editorial processes and improve coverage of topics impacting marginalized communities in Canada, especially Palestinian Canadians.

Lastly, the CJPME team remains grateful for its dedicated Media Responders for their ongoing persistence. These coordinated efforts of solidarity highlight that we can hold media accountable and combat one-sided narratives on Palestine.  If you are not already signed up, please become a Media Responder by clicking here.

On October 21, 2024, CJPME sent a letter to CBC News requesting a revision to its problematic coverage of anti-Palestinian racism in an article published on October 20, 2024.

CBC had referred to B.C. Conservative candidate Brent Chapman’s racist comments about Palestinians as “alleged” and “seen as racist,” minimizing the hateful nature of his statements. Chapman’s remarks, which included offensive and dehumanizing stereotypes, were clear examples of anti-Palestinian racism. CJPME called for more accurate and direct reporting, urging CBC to remove such euphemisms. We emphasized that, while qualifiers may be appropriate in cases of legitimate doubt, they were entirely inappropriate in this instance of unequivocal hate speech.

Following sustained advocacy from CJPME, CBC acknowledged the concerns raised and confirmed that the article was updated to explicitly state that Chapman’s remarks constitute anti-Palestinian racism. The terms “alleged” and “seen as racist” were removed from the article.

This is an important step toward ensuring that anti-Palestinian racism is accurately recognized and reported in Canadian media, without the use of language that unnecessarily casts doubt on the seriousness of hate speech against Palestinians.

CJPME remains committed to holding media outlets accountable for biased coverage and advocating for responsible journalism that upholds fairness and accuracy.

"The whole letter essentially conflates pro-Palestinian advocacy with terrorism from beginning to end. This is a form of anti-Palestinian racism designed to conflate advocacy for Palestinian human rights by defaming protesters as terrorist threats and sympathizers. This kind of rhetoric is harmful, racist and should never have been published in its current form. Orillia Matters should be held accountable for amplifying it."

"Ms. Robinson omits that her dismissal was not for 'impolitic words,' but rather due to public backlash over her dismissive and racist remarks about historic Palestine, where she referred to it as 'a crappy piece of land with nothing on it.'"

"It is hard to imagine CBC reporting on other clear-cut cases of hate in this way. Of course, in instances where there is some reason for skepticism, using the language of “alleged” and qualifying the racism makes some sense, but that is not at all the case here and seems entirely inappropriate."

"These phrases unfortunately read as near-celebrations of Israeli attacks that have caused, for instance in the context of Lebanon with the pager attacks and Nasrallah’s assassination, a high number of civilian deaths and injuries. This language also colours these potential war crimes as a triumph of Israeli ingenuity rather than profound human tragedy, intentional or not."

« Alors que les démocraties occidentales se vantent fréquemment d'être des champions du respect et de la promotion des droits humains, votre article réfute cette présomption en démontrant qu'Israël, un État perçu comme une démocratie libérale, a violé de nombreux droits humains par ses actions génocidaires en Palestine »

"MacIntosh accuses Palestine activist Ramsey Zeid of being “on only one side,” yet her letter is also incredibly one-sided. By focusing exclusively on the actions of Hamas and ignoring Israel's military actions that has now killed 40,000 Palestinian civilians, she perpetuates a narrative that devalues Palestinian lives and dismisses their right to resist oppression. This selective empathy, which only acknowledges Israeli suffering while glossing over the far greater Palestinian suffering, is a form of anti-Palestinian racism."

"To be frank with you, Mr. Blaff, this article isn’t journalism. It’s a hit piece against an NGO doing vital work within a conflict zone. Simply put, you are a mouthpiece for Israeli propaganda that dehumanizes Palestinians and pressures NGOs from distancing themselves from supporting Palestinians in Gaza."

On June 12, 2024, the Ottawa Citizen’s Editor-in-Chief informed CJPME that it would recategorize an inflammatory article by Canada’s Former Ambassador to Israel that questioned “what is a civilian?”

CJPME had written to the paper making the request, as well as launching an alert about the same article that appeared in the National Post. Unfortunately, but unsurprisingly, the National Post stands by the article that promotes genocidal rhetoric.