The Media Accountability Project  

"I took exception to the section of the article that discussed Hamas and  the UNRWA. Claims and statements were made in that section without citing any of the evidence that has disproved many of them."

"Please understand that my concerns are rooted in a good-faith effort to hold Canadian media accountable for their coverage of Israel’s genocide in occupied Palestine and to raise awareness about harmful stereotypes that dehumanize Palestinians."

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."

On March 12, 2025, CJPME media analyst Anthony Issa submitted a formal letter to Toronto Star, challenging its misleading framing of the October 7 attacks in an article titled “Toronto police apologize to Jewish community after backlash to podcast episode”. The letter criticized the article’s opening claim that “On Oct. 7, Hamas attacked a music festival in Israel”, which falsely suggested that the Nova music festival was the primary target of the attack.

Following CJPME’s intervention, Toronto Star revised the passage to acknowledge that the attack occurred at multiple locations.

The updated version reads:

“On Oct. 7, Hamas attacked a music festival in Israel. A total of 1,200 people were killed and 250 abducted in the attack that day that included other locations including several communities.”

While this correction is a step in the right direction, the article still misleads readers by maintaining the festival as the primary reference point. As reported by Haaretz, Israeli security officials have acknowledged that Hamas did not plan in advance to attack the festival but only learned of it during the assault.

Although the framing is still misleading by overly focusing the events of Oct. 7 on the Nova music festival, we believe this outcome highlights the importance of our work in pushing for proper for ongoing media accountability in Canadian news coverage of Palestine.

CJPME remains committed to ensuring that Canadian media does not distort Israel’s brutal military siege and genocide on the Gaza strip following the events of Oct. 7.

"While it is true that civilians were killed at the Nova music festival, the attack occurred across multiple locations, including military bases and settlements near the Gaza border. By narrowing the focus to a music festival, the article distorts the broader context of the attack and implies that it was solely an assault on a cultural event rather than part of a larger confrontation between Hamas and Israel."

"Your framing of the hostage-prisoner/detainee exchange fails to highlight the asymmetry of releasing 33 Israeli hostages versus 2,000 Palestinian detainees, while also neglecting critical context on Israel’s use of administrative detention which allows Israel to imprison Palestinians indefinitely without charge or trial."

"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."

"Take a hypothetical example: if Muslims were to create a “nation of Islam” on Palestinian land, forcibly displacing Palestinians and occupying Palestinian land in the process, I would condemn it just as strongly— even as a Muslim— because it would involve colonizing the land of the indigenous people."

"Therefore, the use of terms like “terrorist hostages” to describe these detainees is deeply offensive and misleading, given that many are arrested for acts of political resistance or for no discernible reason beyond their identity. It is why readers deserve an explanation of why Smotrich’s language is racist and deflects criticism of Israeli apartheid. The Toronto Star needs to provide readers with this context."