The 2024 academic year has returned, and that means frosh week, moving into new dorm rooms, buying textbooks and settling into a new year on campus.

However, for a number of student newspapers on Canadian university campuses, it also means producing a torrent of predictable anti-Israel disinformation presented as journalism.

In fact, in recent days, four campus newspapers have produced a total of 10 articles and columns which either demonized Israel or otherwise gave uncritical coverage to anti-Israel propagandists.

At The Gazette, based out of London’s Western University, one September 9 article entitled: “Divestment coalition returns with roadside protest,” written by News Editor Chirag Singhal and Coordinating Editor Sophia Schiefler, reported on a small anti-Israel protest by “Western community members,” who made the indefensible accusation of “genocide.”

But rather than giving readers any context, namely that there is no evidence whatsoever that Israel is guilty of such crimes, Singhal and Schiefler merely reported on it, providing no background at all, and allowing anti-Israel fringe voices to dictate the public discourse.

Meanwhile, a September 6 article also in the Gazette, written by reporter Mikaila Kimball entitled: “Student groups slam new protest rules,” was another piece that was essentially a press release for anti-Israel activists, who complain about regulations governing their demonstrations. In addition to producing an entire article reporting on the complaints of anti-Israel activists, no background was given, helping readers understand the often violent and hateful nature of anti-Israel rallies, and zero voices were interviewed who oppose the pro-Palestinian protesters often extremist efforts.

The Peak, a student newspaper at British Columbia’s Simon Fraser University, has been a mainstay for radical anti-Israel disinformation, and its latest edition continues that trend, extensively publishing articles which cleave only to an anti-Israel bent.

An anonymously-written September 9 article entitled: “Scotiabank subsidiary divests from Israeli military technology company,” which uncritically repeated claims from protesters of a non-existent “genocide,” and failed to quote any opposing voices.

Another article published the same day, entitled: “The CRA revokes charitable status of two organizations supporting Israeli military,” written by News Writer Sofia Chassomeris, appeared unable to decide whether it is a news article or an opinion column, presenting allegations against two Jewish charities, but falsely presenting them as factual, when they are, in fact, allegations, and matter-of-factly referring to the “open-air prison,” all while quoting multiple anti-Israel activists while predictably refusing to offer any space to an alternative voice.

Yet another article the same day entitled: “How a beloved Palestinian restaurant planted its roots in Vancouver,” written by News Writer Tam Nguyen, lovingly profiled Vancouver restaurant Tamam, which posted images glorifying Hamas’ genocidal massacres of October 7 on their Facebook page. Nguyen hid that from readers, instead fawning that “it was such a pleasure to sit down with both of them and talk about who they are and how their restaurant gives back to the Palestinian community…”

Not to be outdone, on September 9, The McGill Daily’s  Sena Ho published an article entitled: “Students Walk Out to Protest McGill’s Financial Ties to Israel,” which acted as a free publicity agent for McGill University’s pro-Hamas gangs, giving a breathless minute-by-minute play of a recent anti-Israel demonstration, all while ignoring any student who dares to disagree, and failing to give any real picture for readers as to the true nature of the protesters. The accompanying picture shows keffiyeh-clad demonstrators holding a sign which called for “intifada,” a reference to a campaign of Palestinian terrorism which murdered countless Israeli civilians, but nowhere did Ho acknowledge the extremism present in these protests, hiding it from readers.

The same day, the newspaper published yet another article/opinion column following the antics of anti-Israel activists, “McGill Commits to ‘exploring’ Divestment from Weapons Manufacturers Amid Pressure to Divest from Israeli Apartheid.” In the article, reporter Emma Bainbridge, appeared to forget she is writing an article and not a blog post, referred to Israel’s non-existent “genocide of Palestinians,” a lamentable and hateful lie, and censoring out any students opposed to pro-Hamas propaganda on their campus, quoting only friendly voices.

The Tribune, another newspaper at McGill University, in demonstrating a total lack of journalistic integrity, published a September 4 article by Eliza Lee entitled: “Students walk out of classes to compel McGill to cut financial ties with Israeli state,” which, rather than being a legitimate newspaper, degraded itself to becoming a propagandist for anti-Israel extremists in falsely referring to the “genocide of Palestinians,” not in a quote, but in the body of the text itself.

A September 10 article written by Dana Prather entitled: “PGSS executives discuss low attendance, support of Palestine at semester’s first council meeting,” reported on the antics of the Post-Graduate Students’ Society (PGSS). Prather’s article did not use the slur of “genocide” on its own, but quoted the PGSS as making the claim, offering no context or background to help readers recognize the hateful lie that is being propagated.

The same day, writer Fabienne de Cartier penned an article entitled: “SPHR McGill calls on students to wear keffiyehs as sign of Palestinian solidarity,” which in reality was a press release on behalf of Solidarity for Palestinian Human Rights (SPHR) McGill, providing nothing more than a regurgitated plea from SPHR McGill for students to don the checkered keffiyeh, a sign of anti-Israel activism, while predictably offering exactly zero words to any other perspectives, and which – as always – uncritically quoted the hateful accusation of “genocide” twice.

These articles, many of which can reasonably be called opinion columns masquerading as articles, not only erase all pro-Israel voices, but lazily repeat the “genocide” slur so frequently, and so uncritically, that a reasonable observer could recognize a clearly orchestrated and coordinated campaign of disinformation.