News Outlet Tells Staff Not To Call 9/11 A ‘Terrorist Attack’

In preparation for the twenty-fifth anniversary of 9/11, the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation sent a memo to its staff with instructions on how to refer to the 2001 terrorist attacks — specifically, not to call the events terrorist attacks.

“Do not refer to September 11 attacks as terrorist attacks,” the memo read. “The hijackings led to passenger jet crashes in Washington, D.C., Pennsylvania and Manhattan. The World Trade Center (WTC in second reference) was destroyed.”

The memo was attributed to “BB” — identified by the Toronto Sun as Basem Boshra, the senior director of journalistic standards and public trust at CBC News.

Rachael Thomas, a conservative member of Canada’s Parliament, slammed the outlet’s memo and argued it was attempting to rewrite its southern neighbor’s history. “Refusing to call it an act of terrorism dishonours the victims, their families, the survivors, and the first responders who witnessed the horrors of that day,” she wrote on X. “Trying to sanitize or rewrite that history is deeply offensive and does a disservice to everyone who was affected by the attacks.”

Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT) reacted in a post on X, writing, “Maybe we shouldn’t call Canada a ‘friendly country.’”

Rep. Lisa McClain (R-MI) offered a similar take, adding, “Wow, The Canadian Broadcast Center told staff NOT to call 9/11 a terrorist attack. 9/11 is one of the darkest days in our history — nearly 3,000 Americans were murdered by terrorists. Say the word terrorism.”

In a statement defending the outlet, CBC director of public affairs Kerry Kelly pointed to a 2023 editor’s blog that argues using labels like “terrorist attacks” would make the outlet appear less impartial.

“Our focus is to report the facts of such atrocities with accuracy, clarity and detail; to convey the scale and scope of violent acts wherever they occur; to quote the people affected, and to convey the views of officials and experts on these events. We bear witness,” CBC Editor-in-Chief Brodie Fenlon wrote in the blog. “But CBC News does not itself designate specific groups as terrorists, or specific acts as terrorism, regardless of the region or the events, because these words are so loaded with meaning, politics and emotion that they can end up being impediments to our journalism.”

CBC published an article Thursday titled, “Khalid Sheik Mohammed, accused of masterminding 9/11 attacks, set for military tribunal trial in 2028.” The word “terrorist” appeared only once in the article — in a description of Al-Qaeda that read, “Al-Qaeda, which the U.S. designated a terrorist entity in 1999, claimed responsibility for the attacks.”