The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation on Thursday defended an internal memo directing its reporters and editors to refrain from describing the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks as “terrorist attacks,” telling Fox News Digital the guidance reflected its longstanding practice of attributing terms it considers politically and emotionally loaded.

“It is the practice of the CBC to exercise extreme caution before using the words ‘terrorist’ and ‘terrorism,'” CBC Public Affairs Director Kerry Kelly said in a statement to Fox News Digital. “The memo was a reminder of the longstanding practice that favours the use of these terms with attribution in our reporting.”

The memo was authored by Basem Boshra, CBC News’ senior director of journalistic standards and public trust, and surfaced ahead of the attacks’ 25th anniversary. The directive was first reported by Toronto Sun columnist Warren Kinsella, who said it was addressed to CBC News staff.

“Do not refer to the Sept. 11 attacks as terrorist attacks,” the memo said.

SMITHSONIAN-LINKED MUSEUM IN EL-SAYED’S BACKYARD PUTS AMERICA’S POST-9/11 RESPONSE ON TRIAL

The memo instead described the events as hijackings that led to passenger jet crashes in Washington, D.C., Pennsylvania and Manhattan. It also said the World Trade Center was destroyed.

New York City Councilwoman Vickie Paladino condemned the guidance in a statement to Fox News Digital, accusing the broadcaster of disregarding the victims of the attacks and deliberately undermining the historical record.

“The CBC guidance is frankly outrageous and insulting, but it stands as a stark warning for what happens when you allow institutions of public trust to be taken over by leftists and foreign interests,” Paladino said.

“This is not merely a callous disregard for the memory of those who perished on 9/11, it is a deliberate effort to undermine the fundamental truth of what happened that day in direct service to Islamism, as Europe, Canada, and the United States become increasingly overwhelmed by Islamist politics. We must not tolerate it any longer and dedicate ourselves to fighting this poison with every tool we have available before it’s too late,” she continued.

I LOST MY WIFE ON 9/11. PLEASE LET THIS 25TH ANNIVERSARY BELONG TO THE FAMILIES

CBC spokesperson Kerry Kelly told Fox News Digital that the memo reflected the public broadcaster’s longstanding practice of exercising “extreme caution” with the terms “terrorist” and “terrorism.” (AP Photo/Mike Segar, Pool, File)

Conservative Canadian MP Rachael Thomas, who represents Lethbridge, Alberta, called the guidance “absolutely shameful” in a statement posted on X.

“The CBC is choosing to redefine terrorism in a way that downplays the atrocity of 9/11. Refusing to call it an act of terrorism dishonors the victims, their families, the survivors, and the first responders who witnessed the horrors of that day. 9/11 was an act of terrorism. Full stop,” Thomas said.

The Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs also criticized the memo, characterizing the description of the attacks as “hijackings that led to crashes” as “sanitizing” history and a “collapse of journalistic standards.”

Kelly pointed Fox News Digital to a 2023 editor’s blog in which CBC News general manager and editor-in-chief Brodie Fenlon explained that the broadcaster focused on documenting violent events while declining to independently apply terrorism labels.

“We bear witness. But CBC News does not itself designate specific groups as terrorists, or specific acts as terrorism, regardless of the region or the events, because these words are so loaded with meaning, politics and emotion that they can end up being impediments to our journalism,” Fenlon said.

9/11 VICTIM’S IDENTITY EMERGES NEARLY 25 YEARS LATER AFTER DNA BREAKTHROUGH CRACKS MYSTERY

A firefighter breaks down after the World Trade Center buildings collapsed Sept. 11, 2001, after two hijacked airplanes slammed into the twin towers in a terrorist attack. (Mario Tama/Getty Images)

The public guidance specifically said CBC preferred “the Sept. 11 attacks” or similar language. It applied the same approach to the 2005 London bombings, the 2004 Madrid train bombings and the 2011 bombing at a Moscow airport, unless the terrorism label was attributed.

The FBI described 9/11 as the most lethal terrorist attacks in history. Nineteen al Qaeda terrorists hijacked four airliners, killing nearly 3,000 people and triggering the largest investigation in FBI history.

Canada’s government also lists Al Qaida as a terrorist entity and states that the organization perpetrated the World Trade Center and Pentagon attacks.

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP

The guidance echoed a CBC controversy following Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel. Fox News Digital reported that an internal email instructed journalists not to call militants or soldiers “terrorists” and to frame the term as an attributed opinion. CBC confirmed that email and defended the policy as consistent with practices at other news organizations.