The CBC temporarily removed its video on “Guns in Canada 101” to correct a few errors following a complaint to the ombudsman, after shooters, gun-rights groups and media criticized the clip and the company for the inaccuracies and misrepresentations.
The modified 4-minute video was back on the CBC’s main website this afternoon before 5 p.m. Toronto time after having been pulled for several hours, possibly since last night. The video has an updated description that adds context and corrects the rate of gun ownership and legal magazine capacity. Christopher di Armani reported early this morning that the episode had been removed.
Reply to TheGunBlog.ca by Chuck Thompson, CBC Head of Public Affairs
There was a complaint to the Ombudsman that came to our attention yesterday afternoon and in light of that, we took the video down to further review the content. While the content does not fall under our Journalistic Standards and Practices guidelines, we will be be responding to the person who made the complaint. We anticipate putting the video back up later today or tomorrow with any changes that may come after our review.
Some mistakes are still present, spoken by the conservation officers. Follow the link below to the Canadian Shooting Sports Association’s commentary listing the errors.
The bigger story of the video, beyond the micro-victory of getting CBC to consider fixing it, is what it says about us, Canada’s gun owners and shooters. I write about that here.
Timeline
Monday 10 April
- Canadian Shooting Sports Association writes “Commentary: CBC Disinformation on Canada’s Gun Laws Continues.”
- TheGunBlog.ca writes “CSSA Does Point-by-Point Takedown of Misleading CBC Gun Video,” inviting readers to contact the CBC ombudsman.
- Christopher di Armani writes “TheGunBlog’s Excellent Idea – File Complaint with CBC Ombudsman over CBC Video.”
Between Yesterday Afternoon and Late Last Night
- CBC removes video.
Today
- Christopher di Armani writes “CBC Backs Down – Guns in Canada 101 Vanishes From the Internet.”
- TheGunBlog.ca contacts CBC to ask why and when the video was removed.
- CBC responds to TheGunBlog.ca.
- CBC publishes modified video and description with two corrections.