Updated

Updated · Fox News · Aug 28

CBC Eases 9/11 Language Rule Before 25th Anniversary as Leaked Memo Triggers Backlash

Updated

Updated · Fox News · Aug 28

CBC Eases 9/11 Language Rule Before 25th Anniversary as Leaked Memo Triggers Backlash

Q: Why is a major broadcaster refusing to call 9/11 terrorism even after the perpetrators themselves claimed responsibility?

CBC is not saying 9/11 was not terrorism; it is refusing to use the word as the broadcaster’s own label unless it is attributed to a source. The network says this is a longstanding editorial rule meant to avoid terms it considers politically and emotionally loaded. CBC’s stated rationale is that words like “terrorist” and “terrorism” can make a news outlet appear to be taking a side, especially because the term is disputed in some conflicts. Its editors say they prefer to describe what happened in factual terms and then quote officials, experts or legal authorities using the terrorism label. CBC says it applies the same standard to other attacks, not just 9/11. That explanation has not stopped criticism because 9/11 is not a contested case in the public record. U.S. and Canadian authorities officially define it as a terrorist attack. The FBI says 19 al Qaeda terrorists hijacked four airliners and killed nearly 3,000 people. Canada lists al Qaida as a terrorist entity and says it carried out the attacks. Al Qaeda leaders, including Osama bin Laden, later issued statements and recordings acknowledging responsibility. So the dispute is not really about evidence of what 9/11 was. It is about journalistic philosophy. CBC is prioritizing a strict neutrality standard on language, while critics argue that in a case as historically and legally established as 9/11, avoiding the term “terrorism” sanitizes reality rather than protecting impartiality.

3 articles · Updated · Fox News · Aug 28

CBC said Friday it will no longer require direct attribution to describe the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks as terrorism, revising internal guidance after public anger over a leaked memo.
The earlier excerpt had told staff, “Do not refer to the Sept. 11 attacks as terrorist attacks,” instead framing them as hijackings and crashes — language critics said obscured al-Qaeda’s role.
Basem Boshra, CBC News’ senior director of journalistic standards, said the broadcaster never denied 9/11 was terrorism and changed the rule because the guidance had become “an impediment to clarity and public understanding.”
CBC said the adjustment applies to the historic events of 9/11, while its broader practice of attributing motives and causes in coverage of new politically or ideologically motivated violence will remain in place.
The reversal comes ahead of the attacks’ 25th anniversary, as the 9/11 Memorial & Museum says nearly 100 million Americans born after 2001 must be taught the event’s significance.