CBC journalists have been instructed not to describe the Sept. 11 attacks as “terrorist attacks” as the public broadcaster prepares to cover the 25th anniversary of 9/11.
An internal memo circulated to CBC News reporters and editors reiterated the Crown corporation’s longstanding policy restricting its own use of the terms “terrorist” and “terrorism.”
“Do not refer to the Sept. 11 attacks as terrorist attacks,” the memo states.
Instead, CBC staff were instructed to describe how the “hijackings led to passenger jet crashes in Washington, D.C., Pennsylvania and Manhattan” and that the World Trade Center was destroyed, as first reported by the Toronto Sun.
Nineteen al-Qaeda terrorists hijacked four airliners on 9/11, striking the World Trade Center and Pentagon, while a fourth crashed in Pennsylvania.
Nearly 3,000 people were killed, including 24 Canadians.
