The Media Accountability Project  

"Thank you for publishing an opinion piece that provided context that readers typically don’t see in reports and articles in the Canadian media. For example, the Palestinian death toll, the investigation by the ICJ in examining Israel’s role in committing genocide and the illegal occupation that Palestinians have been enduring for 77 years."

"It aligns with a long-standing pattern in Western media that fragments Palestinian identity into “Gazan,” “West Banker,” or “Arab-Israeli,” while deliberately avoiding the term Palestinian. Such erasure is not accidental; it reflects and normalizes a colonial narrative that fragments Palestinian identity and treats Palestinians as stateless, nameless, and ahistorical."

Rather than stating the legal fact — that under international law, East Jerusalem is unequivocally recognized as occupied Palestinian territory — the article resorts to the misleading euphemism that Israel “captured” East Jerusalem, deliberately evading the legally accurate term “occupied.”

On May 8, 2025, CTV News published an Associated Press article titled “Leading aid group shuts down its soup kitchens across Gaza over Israel’s blockade.” While the piece highlighted Israel’s use of starvation as a weapon of war, it also relied on biased language and framing that violated journalistic standards.

CJPME volunteer Nikki Mutch submitted a detailed media accountability letter raising serious concerns about the use of the term “extremists” to describe Hamas, contrasted with euphemistic descriptions of Israeli military actions.

As a result of this letter, the AP/CTV team removed the word “extremist” from the article. This is a meaningful editorial correction that directly aligns with CJPME’s call for accurate, fair, and balanced reporting. It also signals that media outlets are paying attention to public pressure and ethical accountability.

CJPME commends this correction and will to challenge anti-Palestinian bias in Canadian media.

"The article cites Israel’s justification for the blockade without challenge. This framing is blatantly misleading. Hamas agreed to release all remaining hostages as part of a phased ceasefire deal—a deal Israel violated in order to continue its military assault on Gaza."

"The report states, as fact, “ceasefire talks to release the remaining hostages ground to a near standstill.” We all know full well that there was a ceasefire deal and Israel broke it. Even during the ceasefire Israel repeatedly violated the terms and continued to kill Palestinians every day. So your framing of this is a blatant lie. This lie is repeated later in the article."

"Though the Palestinian Health Ministry in Gaza does not distinguish between civilians and combatants using those specific terms, the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA) relies on data from the Gaza MoH to provide detailed breakdowns by gender and age in its official reports."

"This misrepresentation constitutes a serious failure to adhere to the Canadian Association of Journalists’ (CAJ) ethics guideline on accuracy, which states that journalists must be 'disciplined in verifying facts” and must distinguish “between assertions and fact.' Even in the context of an opinion article, this piece falls short of being 'based in fact.'"

"Your coverage should have explicitly stated that Israel is using starvation as a weapon of war, which is in blatant violation of international law. Omitting this context risks normalizing Israel’s war crimes and crimes against humanity. Please keep in mind that my feedback is offered in good faith, with the intention of holding media accountable in its coverage of Israel’s ongoing genocide against Palestinians."

"His imprisonment, like that of many other Palestinians, was politically motivated—a blatant attempt to silence activists resisting Israel’s military occupation. In 2012, Amnesty International recognized him as a prisoner of conscience, condemning his repeated detentions as part of Israel’s systematic efforts to suppress Palestinian activism."