Why I Left CTV News: the Fight for Press Freedom in Canada

When HonestReporting Canada targeted me with a harassment campaign, Management at CTV Montreal broke their own rules to accommodate the lobby group.

By Iman Kassam

In the fall of 2021, I found myself the target of an orchestrated harassment campaign. 

It was the first time I had ever heard of HonestReporting Canada (HRC) – a pro-Israel media watchdog. The campaign, which called on its members to “condemn” me, came in response to a TV report I produced for CTV News Montreal on the Wet’suwet’en protests. The weird part is that my coverage had nothing to do with the Middle East. 

Montrealers gathered in support of the hereditary chiefs who were in a stand-off with the RCMP and the Coastal GasLink company in British Columbia. It was a strong and straightforward story. The night it aired, colleagues congratulated me, as one anchor and senior producer wrote: “Your story was excellent. Well worth the energy you obviously put into it. Your expertise shone through.” 

However, the next morning I woke up to an onslaught of emails and DMs from HRC members who took issue with a visual detail: one of the people I interviewed was wearing a keffiyeh and holding a Palestinian flag. HRC labeled this man an “anti-Israel, pro-Palestinian protester,” and what followed was weeks of relentless harassment flooding my inboxes, demanding that I be fired, claiming that “people like me should not exist.” 

Some said they knew where I lived.

I forwarded every message to my managers, every time requesting four things: for advice and support on how to deal with the harassment, for CTV to issue a cease-and-desist letter to HRC, clarification on whether there were any rules against showing a keffiyeh or Palestinian flag on TV, and whether leadership stood behind my coverage. 

Each time, I was met with silence or indifference.

Then, several months after the broadcast, my story had quietly disappeared from CTV’s website. The video report and copy had been unpublished without explanation or consultation and replaced with a short copy rewritten by a young, white male colleague. My name had been removed from the byline along with the quote from the protester. In doing so, CTV News breached its own Corrections Policy, which clearly states: “We do not, except in very narrow circumstances, unpublish articles or videos.” This policy is echoed throughout most journalism outlets. Online journalism is a part of historical records and archives. While incorrect information should be corrected and clarified, keeping stories online reflects a commitment to transparency, accuracy, and fairness. 

When I asked for an explanation, CTV management claimed that the story had been pulled to “protect (me) from criticism.” But this was not protection — it was censorship and erasure, which is not typical in Canadian journalism. Normally, debates and lively discussion happen everyday between journalists and the news desk. In fact, this story had been vetted by the editor and producer of the day. Usually, when a revision or correction is necessary, the journalist will be informed. Instead, in this case, CTV seemingly caved to a partisan group’s pressure – an ethical breach that reveals a deeper crisis within the very belly of the beast that is the journalism industry. 

What happened to me is what journalists and scholars call the “Palestine exception”.

The Palestine Exception

Journalists Pacinthe Mattar, Rahaf Farawi and scholar Nahla Abdo have written about the “Palestine exception” – how discussions and activism supporting Palestine or criticizing Israeli policies face disproportionate censorship, backlash, and accusations of antisemitism compared to other political or human rights issues. Inside Canadian newsrooms, it means that typical editorial standards do not apply to stories about Palestine. 

For example, a Breach investigation by reporter Emma Paling revealed that CTV forbids its journalists from using the word Palestine and suppresses critical stories about Israel. Journalist “Molly Schumann” (a pseudonym) details CBC’s double standards on covering the war on Palestine and the war on Ukraine, ultimately leading to her resignation.

This has a chilling effect on free speech and press freedom, making it difficult to hold balanced discussions or report critically on events. The “Palestine exception” is not just an abstract concept – it directly impacts the ability to report freely and uphold journalistic values of accountability and transparency. It illustrates how certain narratives are policed more stringently, often to the detriment of open dialogue and the pursuit of truth.

HonestReporting Canada: Weaponizing “Oversight”

HonestReporting Canada portrays itself as “an independent grass-roots organization promoting fairness and accuracy in Canadian media coverage of Israel”. In reality, it is a powerful and well-funded lobby group, mobilizing its 60,000+ supporters to harass journalists and overwhelm news organizations. HRC brags about having pushed for hundreds of corrections and retractions from newsrooms across Canada. This is not about correcting errors;  it is about controlling the narrative.

Imagine if, instead of HonestReporting Canada, it was a white supremacist group targeting journalists and threatening newsrooms. Or picture a political party pushing for stories to be erased or rewritten because it did not like how its views were represented. Most of us would recognize this as an attack on journalistic independence, an effort to bend the media to their will. It does not matter whether the group in question is a white supremacist organization, a political party, or a “media watchdog” – the result is the same: a betrayal of the public’s right to the truth and an erosion of journalistic principles. 

HRC’s tactics have real consequences. The group has claimed responsibility for the firings of two Palestinian journalists, one of whom was on maternity leave at the time. These are not isolated incidents. This is a concerted effort to suppress dissenting voices and maintain a narrow narrative in Canadian media.

On October 11, 2024, Justice Peace Advocates and Writers Against the War on Gaza filed a formal petition with the Canadian Revenue Agency, asking to audit HonestReporting Canada’s charitable status due to concerns that the organization’s activities may  be in violation of Canadian law. 

CTV’s Complicity in the Erosion of Press Freedom

What happened to me at CTV is not an isolated case. HRC’s website lists a long record of news stories it has had “corrected”. Meanwhile, newsrooms across the country are shrinking and fewer journalists are left to cover increasingly complex stories – weaknesses HRC can exploit.

In December 2023, HRC boasted that its members sent 50,000 letters to news outlets in just a few weeks, demanding changes to coverage they perceived as unfavorable to Israel. These mass email campaigns are not designed to encourage dialogue – they are meant to intimidate and exhaust already stretched newsrooms, strongarming them into compliance. 

In his exposé on HRC, journalist Davide Mastracci notes HRC’s goal is simple: overwhelm publications until they make the desired changes. HRC even offers newsrooms a “deal”: if journalists agree to regular meetings and editorial adjustments, HRC promises to restrain its harassment campaigns. 

This is extortion for the purpose of editorial control. 

The Bigger Picture: Canadian Media Under Siege

Advocacy groups like HonestReporting Canada have found fertile ground in Canada’s weakened media landscape. With fewer resources to fight back, newsrooms are increasingly capitulating to the demands of powerful interests, creating an environment where critical voices are silenced and important stories are erased to avoid controversy. 

By deleting my story, CTV News not only silenced the voices of Indigenous land defenders, they also silenced my voice, the only queer, non-binary, person of colour in the Montreal office. 

Diversity in a newsroom is not just a matter of representation; it broadens the scope of whose stories are told and how they are framed. It challenges biases that have marginalized certain communities and ensures that coverage reflects the lived realities of a diverse audience. When audiences see themselves represented on air – especially in ways that go beyond stereotypes – they are more likely to trust and engage with the news, recognizing that their experiences and voices matter. This inclusivity enriches the news and builds a deeper connection between media and the communities it serves, fostering a more informed and engaged society.

Journalism has long aspired to be the backbone of our democracy – a truth-seeker, our mirror held up to society’s face. Yet, too often, it has fallen short of this promise, constrained by the interests of the powerful. But when news organizations bend to the will of groups like HRC, they become complicit in eroding the very principles they are meant to uphold. At a time when Canadians’ trust in news is at an all-time low, this erosion of journalistic integrity is deeply troubling.

I have been a journalist for 14 years and have always embraced criticism and debates on stories believing they make us better storytellers. CTV’s failure to stand by its journalist was a profound betrayal — not just of me, but of the public’s right to a free and fearless press. In retracting the story, CTV sent a clear message: that truth can be sacrificed for the comfort of power. 

It was a year later, while on an educational leave, that I learned my story had been removed. When management informed me that it was done for my “protection”, I made the decision to resign. Leaving CTV News was not an act of surrender but a stand for the principles of transparency, accountability, and integrity that journalism must reclaim and uphold. I could no longer work for an institution that had abandoned the very foundations of what journalism is meant to be.  

If we continue to allow special interests to dictate what stories are told and how they are framed, we are not just failing our profession – we are failing our society. For journalism to live up to its potential, it must be independent, unafraid, and unwavering in its commitment to the public’s interests. It must hold those in power accountable, even when the cost is high, and resist bending to the will of billionaire-backed pressure groups.  

I still believe in the potential of journalism to be better, to be braver. I believe in a media that refuses to compromise on the truth, that stands with the vulnerable and challenges the powerful. It is time for a new era of journalism – one that does not  shy away from uncomfortable truths but confronts them head-on. We owe it to the public, to our democracy, and to the next generation of journalists who are watching us. 

It is time to rebuild what has been broken.

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