Canadian Broadcasting Corporation tells staff not to refer to 9/11 as terror attacks in coverage

The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation reportedly told its staff in an internal memo not to refer to the 9/11 terror attacks in the United States as "terrorist attacks," in their news coverage ahead of the 25th anniversary of the tragedy.

The CBC told Fox News in a statement that the guidance was part of the organization's decision to limit language that can be construed as politically and emotionally loaded.

Journalists with the Canadian network can still describe the event as an "attack," but warned against using words like "terror" or "terrorists."

"It is the practice of the CBC to exercise extreme caution before using the words ‘terrorist’ and ‘terrorism,'" CBC Public Affairs Director Kerry Kelly told Fox News. "The memo was a reminder of the longstanding practice that favors the use of these terms with attribution in our reporting."

The memo described the events as hijackings that led to passenger jet crashes in Washington, D.C., Pennsylvania and Manhattan, and said the World Trade Center was destroyed.

The guidance comes despite the Canadian government designating Al-Qaida as a terrorist organization and said the group perpetrated the World Trade Center and Pentagon attacks.

"The CBC is choosing to redefine terrorism in a way that downplays the atrocity of 9/11," Conservative Canadian member of Parliament Rachel Thomas said. "Refusing to call it an act of terrorism dishonors the victims, their families, the survivors, and the first responders who witnessed the horrors of that day. 9/11 was an act of terrorism. Full stop."

The CBC has used the same guidance when covering the 2004 Madrid train bombings, the 2005 London bombings and the 2011 bombing at a Moscow airport.

Misty Severi is a news reporter for Just The News. You can follow her on X for more coverage.