The Media Accountability Project  

"This is a matter of your obligations as journalists, editors, and members of the National NewsMedia Council. Marking Joe Warmington’s opinion columns appropriately is a basic and non-controversial journalistic responsibility. Nothing exceptional is being asked of you other than doing your job."

"It is not the first time that Postmedia has inappropriately labeled opinion as news — it seems to happen far more with Postmedia than any other National NewsMedia Council member outlet that I am aware of. Please take meaningful action to prevent this chronic violation of Canadian journalistic standards."

"Firebombing a Synagogue, targeting Jewish homes, and painting Nazi graffiti is clearly anti-Semitic. However, there is no evidence in the editorial such anti-Semitic, hateful, illegal acts are undertaken by individuals protesting the genocide conducted in Gaza by Israel."

Please help us challenge the Toronto Sun and Joe Warmington for a troubling article. Toronto Sun describes the piece as a "news" article, as opposed to "opinion," so it must abide by basic journalistic standards.

On December 19, 2023, the Toronto Sun was forced to walk back total fabrications made in an article by Joe Warmington. The notorious right-wing journalist accused pro-Palestine protesters of “threatening to kill our police.” Warmington’s article contradicted the Toronto Sun’s own reporting on the incident from the same day, which made clear that one protester at a shopping mall in Toronto had a heated exchange with another person. Police were merely standing between them. Warmington made it sound like a mob of protesters were threatening the police. The police were not the target of threats. The truth was obvious in the video, and the police confirmed that they were not threatened. It was an example of a journalist trying to make a story fit into his pre-existing anti-Palestinian biases.

Warmington’s lies were so rampant that the article was given a new headline and significantly re-written after our complaint. The article no longer makes the false claim that protesters were threatening the police and was toned down. The article still cites numerous Tweets that spread the lie that protesters were threatening to kill police, showing just how rampant misinformation is online and how little accountability there is.

"Warmington is using this thinly veiled racist language to demean a group of people based on the entirely unverified claim that someone threatened police. We do not know the context. It should be further investigated."

"As far as I can tell, there was no antisemitic vandalism in any of the images that have emerged. And yet, the claim is stated as fact without qualification."

"The principal's post on X was anti-Zionist but not antisemitic, which is a shame because your article shifted to an article about antisemitism while only citing pro-Israel organizations such as B'nai Brith and Friends of Simon Wiesanthal Centre. You even mention Education Minister Stephen Lecce saying there’s no room in Ontario for activist teachers, which furthers my point."

Please help us challenge this opinion piece by Joe Warmington in Toronto Sun, adding fuel to anti-Palestinian racism by making false claims about the BDS movement and pro-Palestine protests.

"Such a misrepresentation violates basic journalistic principles and deserves clarification in a forthcoming print edition of the paper."