CBC News banned referring to the events of September 11, 2001, as terrorist attacks
Kyiv • UNN
CBC News instructed journalists not to refer to the events of September 11, 2001, as terrorist attacks without attributing the characterization to sources. The decision sparked criticism.
Canada’s public broadcaster CBC News no longer refers to the events of September 11, 2001, as a terrorist act. The Toronto Sun reports this, according to UNN.
Details
This position is set out in a memo by CBC News Senior Director of Journalistic Standards and Public Trust Basem Boshra. The definition of this word is widely known and generally accepted.
Thus, in the "Encyclopaedia Britannica," terrorism is "the deliberate use of violence or the threat of violence to create a general climate of fear in a population and thereby to bring about a particular political, religious, or ideological objective."
Do not refer to the September 11 attacks as terrorist attacks
At the same time, the media point out that this sentence is not a recommendation but an instruction.
CBC News itself explained the decision by saying that sources must be cited when using the words "terrorism" and "terrorist."
This practice is common among many leading journalistic organizations worldwide. Our CEO and editor-in-chief has previously spoken publicly on this matter
Context
On September 11, 2001, members of the radical Islamist organization "al-Qaeda" hijacked four passenger planes. Two airliners crashed into the twin towers of the World Trade Center in New York, causing both skyscrapers to collapse completely.
A third plane crashed into the Pentagon building near Washington, while the fourth crashed in a field in Pennsylvania after passengers and crew members resisted the hijackers.
As a result of these events, 2,977 people died (not including the 19 terrorists). Of these, 2,606 people died in New York, while another 125 people died in Washington.
Responsibility for the attacks was claimed by Osama bin Laden, the then leader of "al-Qaeda," who was hiding in Taliban-controlled Afghanistan. As early as October 2001, the United States and NATO launched a military operation in that country, which lasted until 2021. Osama bin Laden himself was killed in Pakistan in 2011 by U.S. special forces.
We remind you
A U.S. military court has scheduled the start of the trial of Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, who is accused of organizing the September 11, 2001, attacks, for June 2028.