The Media Accountability Project  

"Although popular Canadian media has vaguely alluded to the rising levels of starvation in Gaza, Dalia Al Awqati provides the full breadth of context needed for an audience to know the full scale of starvation, dehydration, and malnutrition in Gaza, as well as Israel’s unilateral responsibility for these outcomes."

On February 19, CJPME learned that CTV News corrected an article following several CJPME complaints. This article was about Selina Robinson’s resignation following her racist comments about Palestine.

The article introduced Selina Robinson’s comments as being about “the region where Israel was founded,” which clearly erases the history of Palestinians and their land. While we initially asked them to describe Robinson’s comments as a reference to Palestine– instead of “the region on which Israel was founded” – they opted to remove “the region.” The sentence now reads: “The B.C. NDP’s minister of post-secondary education is stepping down from her cabinet position, days after sparking widespread outrage by saying Israel was founded on a “crappy piece of land with nothing on it.” Although this is not the edit CJPME was hoping for, we recognize CTV’s attempt. Moreover, the article stated that calls for her resignation were made by “pro-Palestinian groups and others,” but omits any mention of the other groups that supported her resignation. CTV has since added the Jewish Faculty Network to its list of groups in support of her resignation.

Albeit small, these changes mark a small win for CJPME. This article was initially published on February 5^th, and a letter expressing our concerns was promptly emailed on February 6^th. Lacking a response from the author/editors, CJPME launched a MAP Alert for our media responders on February 12^th.  Disappointed by CTV’s continued unresponsiveness, we sent another email on February 15 asking that they promptly make the initially requested edits.

"It would be helpful for readers to understand that her comments are 1.) factually incorrect and 2.) reminiscent of the ideological underpinnings of colonialism in N. America, in which the idea of “Terra Nullius” was used to justify the ethnic cleansing of Indigenous peoples."

Thank you for reporting on updates of district policy to address concerns of anti-Palestinian racism and Islamophobia. The news segment’s use of the term “anti-Palestinian racism” (APR) is particularly appreciated, as mainstream media tends to conflate racism against Palestinians with Islamophobia, which erases Palestinian identity and perpetuates the generalization of Arab populations. 

"Her claim that the land was “crappy” and had “nothing on it” perpetuates a key feature of Zionist political discourse: asserting that Palestine was a “land without a People for a People without a Land” and, therefore, ideal for the creation of the state of Israel. I would recommend adding this information to your article, as it helps further contextualize how Robinson’s comments are anti-Palestinian."

"Many Jewish students at York and elsewhere do not support Israel nor its ongoing actions in Gaza, which are plausibly genocidal. To obscure the essential and relevant information that Hillel is not merely a Jewish student group, but a Zionist one, is to profoundly mislead your viewers."

"Why have Israelis been killed, yet Palestinians have died? This passive language muddles reality by absolving Israel of any responsibility as the perpetrator of these Palestinian deaths."

"Thank you again for providing a well-researched and informative article that counters so much of the biased and poorly researched reporting that I have seen from other media sources."

"You write: “International law experts interviewed by CTV National News say this case may not meet the high bar of proving intent to commit genocide […]” Again, these words are highly misleading as you give voice and space to experts who say that it is possible to prove intent to commit genocide."

"I understand that a headline needs to be attention-grabbing for the reader. However, headlines also frame a story for a reader and influence their perspective even if they read the article in its entirety.  Your headline provided inadequate context in terms of Israel’s role in the killing of Mr. Arouri and the potential impact of the killing occurring on Lebanese soil."