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BREAKING: GLOBE AND MAIL HEADQUARTERS OCCUPIED IN PROTEST OF THE NEWSPAPER’S SUPPORT OF GENOCIDE IN GAZA!
On January 14, over 100 journalists, writers, students, and former readers of the Globe staged a sit-in at the Globe and Mail’s headquarters in Toronto.
Write to the Globe and Mail Editorial and News Team to express your deep concern regarding the Globe and Mail’s coverage of the genocide in Gaza.
The Globe and Mail’s reporting has been misleading, factually inaccurate, and ethically irresponsible. This can be interpreted as an attempt to undermine public understanding of the reality in Gaza and warmonger Canadian participation in genocide.
ICJ rulings have highlighted the plausibility of Israel’s genocide and illegal occupation of Palestinian land, and ICC arrest warrants against Israeli officials for crimes against humanity. Numerous reputable human rights organizations, from Amnesty International to The Lemkin Institute for Genocide Prevention, have also proclaimed that Israel is committing genocide.
An estimated 186,000 Palestinians have been killed since October 7, 2023, including at least 217 journalists and media workers who have been targeted through ongoing, deliberate attacks. According to Reporters Without Borders (RSF), Palestine is the most dangerous country for journalists, recording a higher death toll than any other country over the past five years. Despite such deadly stakes for journalists working in the region, the Globe and Mail’s reporting has failed to address the gravity of these attacks, misrepresenting the situation on the ground. For example, the Globe and Mail’s use of the term “Israel-Hamas war” obscures Israel’s ongoing campaign of dispossession, occupation, and genocide.
The attacks on journalists in Gaza are not isolated incidents—they are part of a sustained campaign of violence and intimidation aimed at silencing the press and undermining the role of the media. in Gaza face the destruction of their press infrastructure and the routine killing and/or detainment of journalists. International news outlets are barred access to Gaza without “Israeli” military supervision. The information that does make it out is filtered accordingly, or discredited with qualifiers like “Hamas-run” or “Hamas-linked.” Yet the Globe and Mail coverage has downplayed or omitted the full scope of what is happening in Gaza. This failure is not only irresponsible, but it is dangerous, as it contributes to the normalization of war crimes and sends a dangerous message that such actions can be overlooked or even justified.
Sandra Martin, in her role as Standards Editor, and the supposed “conscience of the newspaper”, has failed to address the reality of the genocide in Gaza and has undermined the trust that the Canadian public places on the Globe and Mail’s journalism.
Demand that the Globe and Mail take immediate and concrete steps to correct the record and align its reporting with ethical journalism standards. Specifically, ask the Globe and Mail to:
- Stop war mongering and manufacturing consent for Israel’s war crimes among the Canadian public. In October 2023, the Globe’s editorial board wrote that “we must stand by Israel through to the end.” They have since also circulated that hospitals in Gaza are used as “human shields”, a debunked narrative used by Israel to target health facilities which are protected in war by international law. Over 186 000 Palestinians in Gaza are now killed: in shaping public opinion on this Canadian-backed genocide towards justification, the Globe has blood on their hands.
- Commit to ethical journalism practices that prioritize accuracy, fairness, and the safety of journalists, and work to counteract the media’s dangerous silence around the genocide in Gaza. Style guides used by the Globe like the Canadian Press often default to language that bolsters Israel’s settler-colonial narratives, including avoiding the word “Palestine” from coverage altogether.
- Condemn the grave violations of press freedoms— including the deliberate attacks on journalists and media workers. The Globe and Mail editorial board must denounce Israel’s targeting of media workers. Media workers everywhere have a responsibility to leverage their platforms to protect the work and the lives of their colleagues.
Until these changes are made, seek out news sources that respect journalistic ethics and uphold the responsibility to inform the public honestly.
Ethical journalism is not optional.
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