An internal memo reportedly sent by a senior Canadian Broadcasting Corporation editor urging journalists to avoid calling the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks “terrorist attacks” has ignited a fresh round of controversy over the network’s language guidelines.
According to a report by the conservative outlet American Thinker, Basem Boshra — identified as the CBC’s “Senior Director of Journalistic Standards and Public Trust at CBC News” — issued the guidance to news staff. The outlet, citing what it described as the memo’s contents, reported that Boshra, an Egyptian Muslim immigrant, told staff: “Do not refer to the Sept. 11 attacks as terrorist attacks.”
The American Thinker piece, written by columnist Eric Utter, characterizes the guidance as a “disgusting diktat” and criticizes both the memo and the CBC’s subsequent defense of it.
CBC defends guidance as standard practice
According to the American Thinker report, the CBC defended the internal memo when contacted by Fox News Digital, telling that outlet the guidance reflected its longstanding practice of attributing terms the network considers “politically and emotionally loaded.”
The CBC’s defense did little to mollify Utter, who wrote that the hijacked planes on 9/11 were themselves “loaded” — with hundreds of victims who died in the attacks on the World Trade Center, the Pentagon, and a field in Pennsylvania.
Utter’s column sharply condemned the terminology guidance, arguing that the perpetrators were motivated by an “evil” and “twisted” ideology, and criticizing what he described as the network’s approach to labeling terrorism.
Commentary goes beyond the memo
The American Thinker piece extends well beyond the CBC memo itself, veering into broader commentary on Canadian immigration policy, U.S.-Canada relations, and domestic American politics. Utter wrote that Canada is “passing into history” due to its acceptance of Muslim immigrants and its relationship with China, and accused Canada of harboring “irrational hatred” for former President Trump and the United States.
The column also references a quote from commentator Kurt Schlicter — “It’s always cute when Canada thinks it matters” — and sarcastically suggests alternative euphemisms for the 19 hijackers, including “building-involved individuals” and “aggressive aviators.”
Utter further noted that New York City, the site of the worst 9/11 attacks, now has a Muslim mayor, a fact he cites in his broader critique of demographic and political changes in the United States.
Context and reaction
The report comes at a time when the CBC has faced repeated scrutiny over its editorial standards and language choices, with critics accusing the public broadcaster of applying politically motivated euphemisms in its coverage of sensitive topics.
Fox News Digital’s reporting on the memo, as cited by American Thinker, is the primary source of the CBC’s public response. The network did not deny the existence of the memo but framed its language guidance as part of an ongoing journalistic approach to “loaded” terminology.
American Thinker’s publication of the story, with its strongly worded editorial framing, reflects the broader partisan debate over how media organizations characterize acts of political violence — a debate that has intensified in recent years in both the United States and Canada.
The CBC has not issued a public statement beyond its reported comments to Fox News Digital, and it remains unclear whether the memo represents a change in policy or a restatement of existing guidelines.
Reactions from commentators
Utter’s column is emblematic of a strand of conservative commentary that views the CBC’s language guidance as part of a wider trend of media normalization of terrorism and hostility toward Western institutions.
He wrote that the victims of 9/11 were killed by “Satanic terrorists” and dismissed the notion that the attackers’ ideology could be described as a “religion of peace.” His column also argues that Canada’s embrace of immigration and its foreign policy positioning relative to China and the United States are misguided.
The broader question — whether news organizations should use the term “terrorist” without attribution or restrict its use as emotionally charged — is not new, but the CBC memo’s timing, tied to the 25th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, has given it renewed resonance.
As of this writing, the CBC has not responded to further requests for comment beyond its reported statement to Fox News Digital.
Source: www.americanthinker.com — https://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2026/08/canadian-broadcasting-corporation-urges-staff-not-to-call-9-11-terrorists-terrorists/