Staff Reports
The latest media circus out of Canada is not about nuance. A leaked internal CBC memo circulated this week telling reporters to stop calling Sept. 11 “terrorist attacks” and to use neutral phrases like “hijackings that led to passenger jet crashes.” That memo, reportedly authored by Basem Boshra, senior director of journalistic standards and public trust at CBC News, did what woke euphemism always does: it softened a brutal truth until it barely resembled reality. FBI Director Kash Patel rightly called it a “bastardization of history,” and his blunt warning to Canadian agencies should be taken seriously.
CBC memo, editorial policy, and the taxpayer angle
The CBC defends the guidance as part of a long‑standing policy to attribute the words “terrorist” or “terrorism” rather than use them in house voice. That sounds like a lawyerly dodge. When a policy produces language that reads like a crash‑report instead of an attack, the public has every right to ask why a government‑funded broadcaster is sanitizing history. Remember: CBC receives more than a billion Canadian dollars from taxpayers. Democracy doesn’t work if the government bankrolls a newsroom that rewrites what happened to almost 3,000 Americans and dozens of Canadians into a bland traffic incident.
Kash Patel’s warning and U.S. reaction
FBI Director Kash Patel used plain language and posted publicly that any Canadian agency that doesn’t repudiate this guidance “will no longer have a friend in this FBI.” U.S. Ambassador to Canada Pete Hoekstra backed him up, noting the FBI’s role in recent disruptions of violent networks inside Canada and warning that failing to call out terrorism undermines joint security efforts. This is not theater — it raises a live question about whether public rhetoric can spill over into the practical cooperation that keeps borders and citizens safe.
Words matter: security, victims, and trust
This isn’t a debate about semantics. It’s about honoring victims, calling out evil, and preserving trust in news reporting. Pretending 9/11 was an unfortunate series of crashes is a slap to first responders, survivors, and families who lived through the worst day in modern American history. It’s also a dangerous precedent: if state‑funded media starts sanitizing violence by ideology, we’ll have less clarity and poorer security outcomes. If CBC thinks being “neutral” means avoiding truth, then it’s not neutral — it’s cowardly and politically tilted.
Final word
The sensible fix is simple: the CBC should withdraw or clarify that memo, and Canadian agencies should publicly reject language that whitewashes terrorism. The FBI and the U.S. Embassy have already made their position clear. Now Canadian leaders and CBC executives must decide whether they stand with clear, honest reporting — and with the victims — or with euphemisms that weaken our defenses. Call it what it was: a terrorist attack. Anything less is an insult, and a risk we can’t afford.
