Canadian Broadcasters: Don't Call 9/11 a Terrorist Attack

SMG News Wire : Aug 28, 2026
ToddStarnes.com

"The CBC is choosing to redefine terrorism in a way that downplays the atrocity of 9/11. Refusing to call it an act of terrorism dishonors the victims, their families, the survivors, and the first responders who witnessed the horrors of that day. 9/11 was an act of terrorism. Full stop." -Conservative Canadian MP Rachael Thomas

[ToddStarnes.com] The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation is facing fierce backlash after an internal memo instructed journalists not to describe the Muslim terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, 2001, attacks as "terrorist attacks"—even as America prepares to mark the 25th anniversary of the atrocity. (Image: iStock)

"Do not refer to the Sept. 11 attacks as terrorist attacks," the CBC memo stated, according to reports.

Instead, journalists were given more clinical language to describe the deadliest terrorist attack in American history.

"The hijackings led to passenger jet crashes in Washington, DC, Pennsylvania and Manhattan. The World Trade Center (WTC in second reference) was destroyed," the memo read.

The guidance reportedly came from Basem Boshra, CBC News' senior director of journalistic standards and public trust.

CBC defended the directive, saying its journalists exercise "extreme caution" when using the words "terrorist" and "terrorism."

"The memo was a reminder of the longstanding practice that favours the use of these terms with attribution in our reporting," CBC Public Affairs Director Kerry Kelly told Fox News Digital.

The policy sparked immediate outrage.

Conservative Canadian MP Rachael Thomas called the guidance "absolutely shameful."

"The CBC is choosing to redefine terrorism in a way that downplays the atrocity of 9/11," Thomas said. "Refusing to call it an act of terrorism dishonors the victims, their families, the survivors, and the first responders who witnessed the horrors of that day. 9/11 was an act of terrorism. Full stop."

The Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs delivered an equally blistering rebuke, calling CBC's language a "complete collapse of journalistic standards."

"Sanitizing the most infamous acts of terror in modern history as mere 'hijackings that led to crashes' is a complete collapse of journalistic standards," the organization said.

Nineteen Al Qaeda terrorists hijacked four passenger jets on Sept. 11, 2001, striking the World Trade Center and Pentagon while a fourth aircraft crashed in Pennsylvania after passengers fought back. Nearly 3,000 people were killed.

The FBI describes 9/11 as "the most lethal terrorist attacks in history." Subscribe for free to Breaking Christian News here