The Media Accountability Project  

"As an occupying power, Israel is bound by the Fourth Geneva Convention, which mandates the provision of essential supplies to the civilian population under occupation. The deliberate obstruction of humanitarian aid, leading to widespread deprivation, has been characterized by the United Nations, mainstream media and human rights organizations as a war crime, specifically the use of starvation as a method of warfare."

On March 28, 2025, CJPME learned that the Toronto Star corrected false claims about the death toll in Israel on October 7, 2023. The correction came after a CJPME social media post criticizing the outlet for repeatedly misrepresenting Israeli and Palestinian death tolls. In an article about protests, the Toronto Star inflated Israeli civilian deaths by at least 45%, while simultaneously downplaying the Palestinian death toll by providing no context about the likely dramatic undercount provided by Gaza’s Health Ministry.

The issue was corrected and a note added. It reads:

Clarification – March 24, 2025

This article was updated from a previous version to make clear that Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack into Israel killed some 1,200 people, mostly civilians. The previous version referred to the death of 1,200 civilians.

CJPME is grateful that the Star corrects its mistakes, but remains concerned by their repeated failure to provide adequate context about Israel’s genocide of Palestinians.

"I find it extremely disappointing and representative of a lack of balance that pro-Israel voices are provided a platform to criticize Al-Quds day in strong terms, but the reporting on pro-Israel counter protests downplays their far-right claims. The counter protest event poster even features an image of a temple and reads “Build the Temple Now.” This is a reference to destroying the Al-Aqsa Mosque and building the “Third Temple” in its place."

"We expect that any reasonable reader would agree that it is reductive, misleading, and untrue to summarize the language used in the definition as “any criticism.” To be clear, there are many opinions expressed in Hopper’s article that we disagree with, but would not challenge because they are clearly expressed as opinions. Unfortunately, this particular claim is stated as fact, and even uses language like “technically deems” to reinforce the notion that the sentiment is not an opinion, but being stated as if factual. We therefore request the article to be updated to resolve this issue."

"Why does the Star report that “about 1,200 people” were killed in Israel on October 7 —without distinguishing between civilians and fighters — on October 7, but then make a point of stating that the Palestinian Health Ministry in Gaza “does not distinguish” between civilians and fighters? This is a blatant and inexcusable double standard that only serves to cast doubt on Palestinian casualty figures."

"It is troubling that your article fails to highlight these crucial details, instead framing Dr. Diab’s situation in a way that reinforces unproven allegations through your clickbait headline and leading paragraph."

"As Malcolm X, Edward Said, and Franz Fanon warned, colonial powers and their institutions perpetuate systems that vilify the oppressed while glorifying their oppressors. This framing not only enables Israel’s ongoing genocide against Palestinians but also erases the immense suffering of civilians under its brutal occupation."

"There is no justification for a “journalist” to write that APR “threatens to destroy all that it touches,” or to blame antisemitism in Canada solely on Muslim immigrants, or to fearmonger about “Islamism,” or misrepresent survey data, or invent fake data, misrepresent police claims, or lie about protest actions, just to name a handful of the violations contained in this article. The Free Press promotes values on its About page, but it appears they were thrown aside in this case. Corrective action is more than necessary to resolve these issues."

"While I appreciate the inclusion of an op-ed about the situation in Syria, the column is not based on personal interpretation or analysis of facts and instead it is based on misinformation. There were at least two examples of misinformation I found that need to be corrected."

"I believe the first half of your statement comes off as a generalization which misleads and sensationalizes the events on the ground rather than reflecting fair and accurate reporting. I recommend that CBC clarify in a correction on air that these rioters were part of the black bloc movement."