CBC Backs Down: 9/11 Can Finally Be Called Terrorism

The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation has reversed an internal policy that told journalists to avoid calling the September 11, 2001 attacks an act of terrorism. The change comes after a leaked memo triggered a public backlash just weeks before the 25th anniversary of the deadliest terror strike on American soil.

The original directive, written by Basem Boshra, CBC News' senior director of journalistic standards, instructed staff to describe the events as hijackings that led to plane crashes, rather than as terrorist attacks. The memo surfaced via Toronto Sun columnist Warren Kinsella, who published the internal guidance and ignited a firestorm of criticism.

Why did CBC tell journalists to avoid the term terrorism?

CBC's internal language guide had long advised reporters to attribute the word