You need only look at the unfolding situation in Syria to understand how allegations of chemical weapons use by Assad’s henchmen (and now by Syrian rebels) are taken seriously and met with worldwide consternation.
With this in mind, consider how on April 26, CBC Radio’s “Information Morning Fredericton” program elected to air an unsubstantiated allegation claiming Israel intentionally used chemical weapons on Palestinian children in Gaza in the 2008-09 war with Hamas.
This inflammatory charge was made by Tracy Glynn of the Fredericton Peace Coalition who stated the following in an interview on an exhibit curated in Fredericton depicting fake Gaza art: “The exhibit depicts one of the most brutal events that happened in the history of Gaza with the 2008-2009 Operation Cast Lead which killed over a thousand people in Gaza including 320 children, so this exhibit, done by children who survived that air raid, use of chemical weapons, it depicts what they see happening in their lives, the events that happened as well as the aftermath of that…”
To listen to this interview please click here or on the image below:
Ms. Glynn’s comment mentioning “chemical weapons” that Gazan children “survived” certainly conjures up images of Sarin, Mustard Gas, VX and other nerve agents. These are the very same charges that the Syrian government stands accused of in its civil war with rebel forces and vice versa. The alleged use of these weapons is regarded as crossing U.S. President Barack Obama’s self-imposed red line which may prompt a U.S. or coalition military intervention in Syria.
CBC Journalistic Standards and Policies dictates the following in the “Responsibility and accountability related to interviews” category (emphasis added): “CBC takes responsibility for the consequences of its decision to publish a person’s statements in the context it chooses. When we present a person’s 
statements in support of our reporting of facts, we ensure that the statements have been diligently checked. In the case of comments made by a person expressing an honest opinion, we ensure that the opinion is grounded in facts bearing on a matter of public interest.”
Ms. Glynn’s statement was tantamount to accusing Israel of war crimes and crimes against humanity on vulnerable Palestinian children. These were incredibly serious unfounded charges that came from a pre-recorded comment. CBC journalists heard this comment before it went to air and chose to broadcast it over CBC airwaves. As such, CBC must take responsibility for this inflammatory and unfounded allegation it gave a platform to.
On April 30, HonestReporting Canada contacted the CBC calling for an on-air apology to be aired to atone for airing this unsubstantiated allegation claiming Israel used chemical weapons on Palestinian children. We encourage you to echo our call for the CBC to issue an apology by sending your considered comments to CBC Editor-in-Chief Jennifer McGuire here: Jennifer.mcguire@cbc.ca.
Malcolm X once said: “The media’s the most powerful entity on earth. They have the power to make the innocent guilty and to make the guilty innocent, and that’s power. Because they control the minds of the masses.”
Don’t let the CBC turn Israel into the guilty party.
7 comments
what the heck? who is this Ms. Glynn’s ? She sounds like a reject, just listen to her trying to talk as she stammers and stutters. Obviously shes making it all up. Not a very good liar at all. ? lol
The CBC must have much better reflected balance in relation to its treatment of Israel and the Arab Middle East. The case here is blatant and represents ill considered bias in alleging Israel’s use of chemical weapons in Gaza. This is a war that has been harshly criticized, and even the UN, which never favors Israel, cleared Israel of any war crimes. It amounts to a libel and the CBC must both air an apology and correction repeatedly over the course of several days, and publish a written apology and correction on the web page.
Then they can tackle the blatant anti-Israel bias of Tremonti.
This is another example of the CBC’s self-importance and not following its own rules (or those of the CRTC). CBC’s journalistic integrity vanished more than a decade ago. Its surely the time that the 1.2 billion dollars we as taxpayers are forced to give the CBC goes to something worthwhile, such as Medicare, education, or (heaven forbid) debt reduction.
Its our money, and the CBC supposedly belongs to us (unless you believe what the president of the CBC says). Its time we vote by letters to our member of Parliament that we want the CBC cut off from public funds.
CBC is a neo nazi channel. Impeach them
Israel hating is alive and well at the CBC.
CBC is so openly Anti-Semitic. Where are the major Jewish organizations? They have to demand de-funding of the Anti-Semitic broadcaster, start on-line petitions and take other actions.
Any retraction that CBC makes is worthless and window dressing.
The anti-Semites of the world have a video snippet from a supposedly legitimate media outlet that airs their lies for them. Any statement that contradicts the lies later will be seen as CBC cowtowing to those “world-dominating Zionist interests”.
This is no different than an interviewer asking an interviewee whether or not he still beats his wife.