The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) has defended an internal memo that advised its journalists against describing the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks as "terrorist attacks" without attribution, a policy the broadcaster states aligns with its long-standing practice of exercising caution with politically and emotionally charged language.
In a statement to Fox News Digital, CBC Public Affairs Director Kerry Kelly said the memo was a reminder of the practice that favors using such terms with attribution. The directive, authored by Basem Boshra, CBC News' senior director of journalistic standards and public trust, surfaced ahead of the 25th anniversary of the attacks.
The memo suggested referring to the events as hijackings that resulted in passenger jet crashes in Washington, D.C., Pennsylvania, and Manhattan, and noted the destruction of the World Trade Center. The FBI, however, has described 9/11 as the most lethal terrorist attack in history, with 19 al-Qaeda operatives hijacking four airliners and killing nearly 3,000 people.
The guidance has drawn criticism from some U.S. and Canadian officials. New York City Councilwoman Vickie Paladino condemned the memo, calling it "outrageous and insulting" and accusing the CBC of disregarding victims and undermining the historical record. Conservative Canadian Member of Parliament Rachael Thomas labeled the guidance "absolutely shameful," asserting that 9/11 was an act of terrorism and that the CBC's stance dishonors victims, families, and first responders.
The Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs also criticized the memo, describing the CBC's alternative phrasing as "sanitizing" history and a "collapse of journalistic standards."
CBC News general manager and editor-in-chief Brodie Fenlon explained in a 2023 editor's blog that the broadcaster focuses on documenting violent events rather than independently applying terrorism labels. He stated that terms like "terrorist" and "terrorism" are "so loaded with meaning, politics and emotion that they can end up being impediments to our journalism."
This approach also applied to other events, such as the 2005 London bombings, the 2004 Madrid train bombings, and a 2011 bombing in Moscow, unless the terrorism label was attributed.
The CBC's stance on the 9/11 attacks echoes a controversy following Hamas's Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel, when an internal CBC email reportedly instructed journalists not to label militants or soldiers as "terrorists" and to frame the term as an attributed opinion. The CBC confirmed that email, defending the policy as consistent with practices at other news organizations.