The Canadian Broadcast Corporation is Canada national broadcaster, similar to the BBC in the U.K. It broadcasts both radio and television programs across Canada. Yesterday, Warren Kinsella, a columnist for the Toronto Sun, revealed an unusual memo issued by the CBC relating to the upcoming anniversary of the 9/11 attacks here in the U.S. According to the CBC, those were not terrorist attacks.
The Encyclopedia Britannica people define it this way: “Terrorism is the calculated use of violence, or the threat of violence, to create general fear in a population and coerce a government or society to achieve political, religious, or ideological goals.”
By any reasonable and objective standard, that is what happened nearly 25 years ago, on September 11, 2001: Terrorism…
Except, not at the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC).
This week, I received a memo — presumably confidential — addressed to CBC News staff. It is authored by one Basem Boshra, who is the “Senior Director of Journalistic Standards and Public Trust at CBC News.” In Boshra’s memo, reporters are editors are told this:
“Do not refer to the Sept. 11 attacks as terrorist attacks.”…
It goes on. “The hijackings led to passenger jet crashes,” it reads, again in italics. There is no recognition in the CBC memo — none — that “hijacking that leads to passenger jet crashes” is not a protest, or a vote. It is a terrorist act, full stop.
Here’s an image of the actual memo:
The story is in @TheTorontoSun. https://t.co/y2Bw7XpNyh pic.twitter.com/9bG2hgkNcK
— Warren Kinsella (@kinsellawarren) August 27, 2026
Kinsella asked the CBC why it was pushing the idea that 9/11 was not terrorism and a spokesperson told him, “CBC’s longstanding language guidance regarding the terms ‘terrorist’ and ‘terrorism’ is a preference for the use of these words with attribution, a practice shared by many of the world’s top journalistic organizations.” In other words, other people can use that language about 9/11 but the CBC cannot because that would be making a judgment…or something.
As it happens, Kinsella argued this exact point in a book that was just published. He pointed out that many news outlets refused to call Hamas terrorists even after the 10/7 attack on Israel.
It’s nice that people think my story is a big scoop, but it kind of isn’t. @CBCNews and other media organizations have been denying the reality of terrorism for years – as I detail in my book The Hidden Hand.
Refusing to call 911 terrorism, however, is new and sickening. pic.twitter.com/0fJymj6l3S
— Warren Kinsella (@kinsellawarren) August 27, 2026
As a member of the House once famously said, “Some people did something.” That’s basically how the CBC wants to handle this.
Today, House Republicans asked for an explanation of the CBC’s inability to use words.
What possible motive could there be for sanitizing the worst terrorist attack on American soil? Care to explain, @Canada? https://t.co/UevmkLADTE
— House Republicans (@HouseGOP) August 27, 2026
More reactions appearing on X:
.@CBC keeps giving Canadians new reasons to question whether the institution can reform itself.@kinsellawarren’s reporting should be a breaking point.
Nineteen al-Qaeda terrorists hijacked four planes and deliberately murdered thousands of people in pursuit of an ideological… pic.twitter.com/qJNM5TGX2X
— Mike Fegelman (@MikeFegelman) August 27, 2026
This one is from a former CBC news presenter.
As I was saying…@CBC may have the most incompetent, ideologically captured management in the country.
I didn’t get the memo so I can say with 💯 confidence:
9/11 WAS A TERRORIST ATTACK.
Policing this language isn’t “careful journalism” It’s an insult to victims & their… pic.twitter.com/Bq26tKVw8U
— Travis Dhanraj (@Travisdhanraj) August 27, 2026
Canada’s government broadcaster lies that 9/11 wasn’t a terrorist attack.
Canadian propaganda tells its “journalists” that the attack was “hijackings led to passenger jet crashes.”
They get $1.6 billion a year to spread this kind of lie. https://t.co/3BCkMX6yXm pic.twitter.com/rOcnCh2Gvj
— Andrew Follett (@AndrewCFollett) August 26, 2026
This is insane. A CBC director sent out an edict to not call the 9/11 attacks what they were—a terrorist attack.
That terror attack murdered 2,977 people, incl. at least 24 Canadians on Sept. 11, 2001.
Basem Boshra should consult the @CdnEncyclopedia: https://t.co/p9u4b5C1n5 https://t.co/SaqPFlfp4c
— Kevin Vuong 🇨🇦 (@KevinVuongxMP) August 26, 2026
This was reported yesterday but is really getting more attention today, a day when President Trump seemed to be poking at Canada by renaming Lake Ontario:
🚨 BREAKING: President Trump just signed an executive order changing the name of Lake Ontario to LAKE AMERICA
This is going to send Canada into an absolute RAGE 🤣
“All the paperwork’s been filed, and this is effective IMMEDIATELY” pic.twitter.com/28OZXQ1dVq
— Nick Sortor (@nicksortor) August 27, 2026
I think whatever outrage was generated by that is being overwhelmed by the CBC memo. So far it doesn’t appear that Trump or the White House have said anything about this. We’ll have to wait and see if the CBC reverses course before this escalates.
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