Below is my latest complaint to the CBC Ombudsman about their video “Keeping Canada Safe – Guns in Canada 101.” That they pulled the video for a day to make two minor cosmetic changes to the on-screen captions is a start, but they have a long way to go. Their refusal to fact-check is a disgrace to journalistic integrity, of which the CBC clearly has none.
To file your complaint about this video go to http://www.ombudsman.cbc.radio-canada.ca/en/contact-us/
The CBC series “Keeping Canada Safe” (http://www.cbc.ca/keepingcanadasafe/blog/about/) purports to be an educational series highlighting the efforts of the government to keep Canadians safe. The following is taken directly from their web page
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Over a single 48-hour period, we captured intimate and dramatic behind-the-scenes stories of the everyday heroes who keep our country secure – from first responders and professionals who do important work we’re often not aware of, to ordinary citizens driven to take action in the face of pressing needs.
The result is Keeping Canada Safe, a high-profile, four-part CBC docuseries based on a format from ITV, and a content-rich digital and social media campaign, designed to inspire a national conversation about what it means to be safe in this rapidly-changing world.
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One video in that series, “Guns in Canada 101,” is filled with factual errors, misinformation and, worse even than that, highlights law enforcement officers who have no clue about firearms or the firearms law they enforce.
The lack of fact-checking by the CBC in this piece is horrendous.
By the CBC’s promotion of law enforcement’s ignorance of the law, as well as the misinformation and factual errors contained in this video, the CBC only causes more confusion about Canadian firearm laws.
That the CBC temporarily pulled the video yesterday to make two changes in the on-screen text while leaving all the other errors in place highlights how little the CBC values facts and journalistic integrity.
Instead of making two minor cosmetic changes, I urge you to force the CBC to take this video down from every video platform where they published it, including the CBC.ca website and their YouTube channel, and completely remake the segment so it is factual, shows law enforcement officers who are knowledgeable about the law instead of ignorant of it, as the current segment does, and fact check EVERYTHING.
As it stands, this video segment proves only one thing: the CBC lacks any journalistic integrity or concern for the truth.
Sincerely,
Christopher di Armani
