Another day, another CBC radio program conducting a heartfelt interview about alleged “famine” in Gaza that is long on emotional appeal, and short on facts.

Day 6, which has produced a long string of such programs in recent months, speaking to critics of Israel and effectively censoring out any opposition, all while offering virtually no context nor challenge to guests, did so again on May 16.

Listen to the full clip below:

In an interview with Gaza-based Rachael Cummings, humanitarian director for Save the Children, the guest host filling in for Brent Bambury, discussed the humanitarian situation inside Gaza.

While such discussions are entirely valid, the introduction provided a preview of the entire segment, with the host saying “children continue to pay a heavy price,” accompanied by instrumental music, showing that it would be heavily emotive in nature, rather than based on facts.

Cummings claimed that Gaza was at “critical risk of famine” and that “the whole population of Gaza is hungry,” and rather than challenging her guest to buttress those allegations with facts – particularly in light of fully-stocked food markets in Gaza indicating precisely the opposite – the host made no effort to hold her guest accountable for her statements.

Instead, she took them wholly at face value, not once pushing back. Furthermore, the host failed to provide listeners with any broad understanding of what was actually taking place in Gaza. She did not explain how Hamas, the terrorist regime running Gaza, actively commandeers humanitarian aid, diverting it from the civilian population and directing it for itself.

She did not mention that, despite a stoppage (now continued) of external aid, nothing produced Gazans from growing crops, including fruits, vegetables, grains, raising livestock, fishing, and more. One entrepreneurial woman named Nour al-Najjar has made locally-produced treats to groups of well-fed children.

Cummings made a number of outlandish statements, claiming “the people of Gaza are exhausted,” and citing one person who told her “we are waiting to die.”

What went unmentioned by the host is that, despite war, life in Gaza goes on. Gold jewelry is being sold, dessert cafes continue to be operational, and fruits and vegetables are widely available. If “the people of Gaza are exhausted,” they are not showing it, nor do they look like they are “waiting to die,” despite Cummings’ hysterical pronouncements.

But the program’s host, rather than challenging her guest, or at the bare minimum pointing any of this out to listeners, chose not to do any of that, instead offering hard-hitting questions to Cummings, such as “how do you get up every day,” a textbook softball question that does a profound disservice to the Canadian public hungry for facts.

The famine fiction pushed by large swathes of the Canadian media landscape is not limited to the concepts of factual accuracy, but instead has devolved into an endless parade of emotive guests making unfounded statements that are entirely detached from verifiable reality. And rather than doing their jobs holding these powerful actors to account, outlets like the CBC radio program Day 6 have shown a tendency to tell easy narratives rather than ask the tough questions.