Elected officials in both the United States and Canada publicly rebuked the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) on Monday after the public broadcaster reversed a policy that had instructed its journalists to avoid labeling the September 11, 2001 attacks as terrorism unless a source was cited.
U.S. officials voice outrage
New York City Councilwoman Vickie Paladino told Fox News Digital that the week‑long controversy should not have been necessary, calling the CBC’s original guidance a sign of “deep ideological rot.” Former New York Governor George Pataki added that fear of being labeled Islamophobic should not excuse denying the plain truth of the attacks.
House Republicans also demanded an explanation, with the Republican Conference asking, “What possible motive could there be for sanitizing the worst terrorist attack on American soil?” Senator Mike Lee (R‑Utah) and Representative Lisa McClain (R‑Michigan) joined the criticism, as did FBI Director Kash Patel, who said the guidance “bastardized history.” U.S. Ambassador to Canada Pete Hoekstra warned that failing to confront terrorist ideologies endangers the shared security partnership between the two nations.
Canadian leaders respond
Canada’s Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre called the CBC’s reversal an “appalling distortion of history” and demanded a retraction and apology. Liberal Culture Minister Marc Miller said the updated guidance corrected a mistake that had caused legitimate anger, while Public Safety Minister Gary Anandasangaree affirmed that Canada has always recognized 9/11 as the deadliest terrorist attack in history.
CBC Head of Public Affairs Chuck Thompson directed reporters to the broadcaster’s revised Editor’s Blog, which explained that the organization had decided to clarify that direct attribution is not required when describing the historic events of 9/11 as terrorism. The change followed a leaked internal memo from senior director of journalistic standards and public trust Basem Boshra that had instructed staff to avoid the term “terrorist attacks” without a source.
Background on the 9/11 attacks
The September 11 attacks, which occurred 25 years ago next month, remain the deadliest terrorist attacks in history. Nineteen al‑Qaeda terrorists hijacked four commercial airliners, crashing two into the World Trade Center in New York City, one into the Pentagon in Washington, D.C., and the fourth into a field in Pennsylvania after passengers attempted to retake control.
Fox News Digital reached out to the White House, New York Governor Kathy Hochul and New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani for comment but had not received responses at the time of publication.
Original reporting: Fox News (HLL/CB) — read the source article.
