The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) is under fire for what critics are calling an allegedly deliberate narrative targeting dissenters of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his policies favouring the pro-Khalistan movement.
Accusations have mounted that the public broadcaster is being allegedly used to silence voices ranging from Indian diplomats and Indo-Canadian social media influencers to local Canadian politicians and journalists.
The latest figure in this alleged media hit-job is Daniel Bordman, a Toronto-based journalist with The National Telegraph.
Bordman claims CBC conducted a targeted investigation into his tweets, questioned his associations, and confronted him in a contentious interview, all culminating in an article suggesting bot engagement with his content.
Bordman himself denounced the CBC article, tweeting:
“For the @CBCNews Khalistani propaganda hit piece “article” on me they interviewed me and confronted me on two of my tweets for potential misinformation. However, neither of those tweets made into the article. Likely because of the explanations I gave. Anyone want to guess what topics the CBC was too scared to attack me on?”
Earlier, well-known Indo-Canadian journalist Rupa Subramanya too has alleged on X that the Canadian government’s Rapid Response Mechanism (RRM), designed to monitor foreign interference, is being used to target critics of Trudeau.
Subramanya revealed that her articles for National Post and those by other prominent Canadian columnists were flagged by the RRM for their high engagement. She noted that this information was likely included in a brief submitted to the Foreign Interference Commission in Canada, questioning whether high-performing pieces are being labelled as “disinformation.”
Hindu American Foundation (HAF) weighed in, calling the CBC report “disinformation.” In a post on X, HAF criticised the article for:
- Ignoring a landmark study by Rutgers University-affiliated Network Contagion Research Institute, which exposed pro-Khalistani online networks amplifying temple vandalism videos in Canada and the US.
- Misrepresenting opposition to the Khalistan movement as a “Hindu nationalist” agenda instead of a national security concern.
- Mischaracterising accounts posting over 72 times daily as bots, potentially maligning legitimate voices.
Fair journalism, HAF asserted, is critical in navigating the present climate of threats.
Kushal Mehra, another prominent social media influencer who had earlier interviewed Bordman, lambasted CBC for labelling dissenters as “foreign agents,” stating on X:
“The Canadian definition of a foreign agent: Anyone who criticises the Trudeau government and is not a left-winger or someone who loves Canada and opposes extremism funded by the CCP or Pakistani ISI.”
Suhag Shukla of the Hindu American Foundation also criticised CBC, stating:
“CBC’s Jon Montpetit wouldn’t define ‘Hindu nationalism’ for Bordman during the interview. Now he equates it with opposition to the Khalistan movement. Forget that Indians of all ideologies oppose the separatist agenda, which led to the worst terror attack in Canadian history.”
Last year, Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre accused the CBC of engaging in partisan attacks, stating to local media, “The CBC needs to focus on its public-service mandate.” Not much has changed, as the broadcaster recently criticised Poilievre again, accusing him of “veering towards fiction” over claims that Mark Carney was offered Chrystia Freeland’s position. Turned out every word Poilievre said was right!
Canada’s Broadcasting Act mandates that the CBC “should provide radio and television services incorporating a wide range of programming that informs, enlightens, and entertains.” However, while the Conservatives, “the harshest critics of CBC News,” emphasise accountability and unbiased reporting from the national public broadcaster, Justin Trudeau and the Liberals invested $675 million in funding to revitalize the CBC. Unsurprisingly, allegations of the broadcaster aligning with its benefactors to secure its position have sparked growing concerns about attacks on dissenting voices.
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