HR Canada Charitable Organization report raises concerns about significant narrative and sympathy bias in CBC's Israel-Hamas war coverage

According to the authors of the study, the findings raise urgent questions about how the CBC's distorted coverage may be fuelling anti-Jewish sentiment and failing its own journalistic standards.

TORONTO, Jan. 14, 2026 /CNW/ - Today, HR Canada Charitable Organization (HRCCO) has released a landmark report, which concludes there is evidence of consistent, overwhelming narrative imbalance in the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation's (CBC) online coverage of the Middle East conflict during the period studied, which minimizes and abstracts Israeli and Jewish experiences while privileging Palestinian perspectives and views.

CLICK HERE to read the report.

The two-part report analyzed 2,789 CBC news articles published between October 7, 2023 and June 7, 2025, examining the CBC's online coverage of the Israel-Hamas war. By harnessing the power of artificial intelligence to conduct large-scale textual analysis, and combining this with academic review of tone, context, and moral framing, the report identifies a consistent pattern in the coverage that dehumanizes Israelis while humanizing Palestinians. These conclusions are particularly significant given the broader context of rising antisemitism in Canada, which HRCCO believes raises serious questions about the role media framing may play in shaping public perception.

The report consists of an independent AI sympathy analysis conducted by Innohives, the leading AI-powered research firm behind the Asserson Report on the BBC, and a narrative analysis of the same data, conducted by HRCCO. Innohives' research concluded that the CBC's coverage of the Israel-Hamas war demonstrated significant imbalance in sympathy, challenging its commitment to its own Journalistic Standards and Practices.

The accompanying HRCCO narrative analysis concludes that by omitting or minimizing Israeli perspectives, selectively engaging in emotional storytelling, disproportionately quoting Palestinian civilians and over-amplifying the testimony of unrepresentative Jewish organizations, the CBC has unevenly shaped the Canadian public's understanding and perception of one of the most significant and complex global conflicts.

"The bias, which we think is clearly demonstrated by the research being released today, should concern all Canadians," said Amanda Eskenasi, Director of Education at HRCCO and author of the HRCCO report. "Consistently imbalanced coverage can lead to real-world consequences, and it must be addressed. It contributes to a culture that dehumanizes Jews and dismisses Jewish suffering, allowing bad actors to rationalize or excuse antisemitism, eroding the moral barrier against antisemitic violence."

Key Report Findings

The HRCCO Report outlines several key findings relating to coverage of the Israel-Hamas war:

• Israeli Civilian Erasure: Coverage of Israeli civilian suffering or the Israeli experience in general dropped sharply after December 2023, falling to nearly zero for the remainder of the conflict.
• Narrative Imbalance: CBC's coverage humanizes Palestinian suffering through individualized, emotionally rich portrayals and direct quotation, while Israelis--including hostages--are rendered largely invisible as people, and instead portrayed through impersonal, institutional labels like "Israel" or "IDF forces."
• Distortion of Jewish Perspectives: CBC's coverage of domestic events (encampments, protests, etc), repeatedly elevated visibility of anti-Zionist Jewish organizations that represent a minority of the Jewish community, granting them disproportionate coverage and implicit authority. In many cases, these groups were featured more prominently than mainstream Jewish organizations.

The Innohives' analysis further concluded there is a consistent disparity between headline framing and the substance of the article text. Based on the analysis, while the body of CBC articles often contained more neutral or mixed reporting, headlines were significantly more likely to frame Palestinian civilians sympathetically, raising questions about a consistent editorial decision to shape audience perceptions of the conflict before they could engage with the facts.

A Call for Reform

"The CBC has a legal responsibility under the Broadcasting Act to provide coverage that fairly and accurately reflects the circumstances and diversity of Canadian society. To achieve this, every community is equally deserving of empathy, accuracy and truth," said Eskenasi. "As Canada's publicly funded broadcaster, the CBC has an obligation to uphold these standards of impartiality and representational integrity. When we see coverage consistently falling short of those obligations due to systemic failings, it requires serious review and meaningful reform."

This includes taking immediate action to address the conclusions of this report, such as an in-depth, independent audit of CBC's editorial culture, as well as regular external monitoring and assessments on its reporting to ensure the CBC remains accountable to its own standards. For detailed information on HRCCO's recommendations for reform, click here.

About HR Canada Charitable Organization

HR Canada Charitable Organization (HRCCO) is a registered Canadian charity whose mission is to advance education and foster understanding by delivering comprehensive educational courses, lectures, and workshops that confront issues of religious, racial, ethnic, and cultural intolerance, with a particular focus on antisemitism.

Through the use of data collection and research, media analysis, and public dissemination, we strive to promote unbiased representation and challenge anti-Jewish discrimination and prejudice in Canada.

SOURCE HR Canada Charitable Organization (HRCCO)

For More Information: HR Canada Charitable Organization, Amanda Eskenasi, Director of Education, [email protected]