August 15, 2024 – for immediate release

The National NewsMedia Council (NNC) has dismissed a complaint about the accuracy of a headline in a May 3, 2024, news story published by the Chilliwack Progress. 

The article reported on a civil claim filed by a local organization in British Columbia’s Supreme Court that accused two former employees of misappropriating more than $1 million. The story’s headline read: “Mother, daughter sued by Chilliwack society for misappropriating $1.4M”. The story was supplemented with a subheading that read: “Kathleen Mosa, Erin Mosa ‘fraudulently, wrongfully, and secretly’ spent society money, claim says.” 

Kathleen Mosa, one of the defendants, filed a complaint with the NNC stating concern that the headline was “slanderous.” The complainant also argued that the headline failed to mention the word “alleged,” given that a decision about the claim had not been reached by the court. The complainant, moreover, expressed concerns that the news organization had not provided similar coverage to their response to the civil claim and the fact that the news organization shared the story via its social media channels. 

The news organization responded to the complainant’s concern by stating, “[the] responses to the claims are just as important and newsworthy as the initial claim.”

In its evaluation of the complaint, the NNC carefully reviewed the correspondence shared between the complainant and the news organization’s editor. It also considered general industry best practices surrounding reporting on matters before courts. 

The NNC noted the news organization published a follow-up story that included the complainant’s denial of the allegations, which is in line with  journalistic best practices.   

Regarding the complainant’s concern about the absence of the word ‘alleged’ in the headline, the NNC is of the view that the article clearly indicates to readers the original claim is based on allegations that have not yet been tested in court. For example, the subheading includes the words “claim says.”

Further, the NNC noted that the original article relied on court documents. Canada has an open court system and when a trial is not covered by a publication ban, journalists are permitted to report on arguments and facts presented for the court’s consideration. This is an important feature of public transparency and accountability. 

The complainant’s final concern about the dissemination of the news story on social media platforms is generally considered a matter of audience engagement and not an issue of journalistic standards. In the same spirit, it is the news organization’s prerogative to decide whether – and how – they wish to post links to their stories on social media platforms. 

For these reasons, the NNC found no evidence to support a complaint about a breach of journalistic standards. The complaint, therefore, was dismissed and parties were notified of the outcome.