Al Jazeera English executive Carlos van Meek has banned his journalists from using words like "terrorist," "militant," and "Islamist," internal emails obtained by
National Review show.
Wrote van Meek in what is likely a head-turning email to his reporters and editors: "One person’s terrorist is another person’s freedom fighter."
Of the other words, commonly used in descriptions by journalists of militant violence, van Meek also sounded off, telling his employees in the Washington, D.C., and New York City bureaus that "Islamist" is forbidden because it is "a simplistic label," National Review noted.
Also not for use in stories was "extremist," noted van Meek of "words that have a tendency of tripping us up."
"Avoid characterizing people," van Meek said. "Often their actions do the work for the viewer."
His email to staff came after a deadly Libyan hotel attack by Islamic terrorists on Wednesday, National Review said of the timing.
Van Meek also abolished use of the word "jihad," and ordered replacement words like "militants" or "fighters" to replace "terrorist" if they fit his definition of use.
“For example, we can use the term [militant] to describe Norwegian mass-killer Andres Behring Breivik or Oklahoma City bomber Timothy McVeigh,” he instructed, National Review said.
Of the word "jihad," he described his own meaning. "Strictly speaking, jihad means an inner spiritual struggle, not a holy war," he said. "It is not by tradition a negative term. It also means the struggle to defend Islam against things challenging it."
Van Meek's remarks come just two weeks after his publication, funded by the government of Qatar,
according to the Los Angeles Times, and launched in the U.S. in 2013 to much skepticism, came under fire after other leaked emails found an editor questioning whether the Charlie Hebdo massacre in Paris was "really at attack on free speech,"
The Blaze noted.
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