July 12, 2025 – for immediate release
The National NewsMedia Council (NNC) mediated and found that corrective action was taken to address a complaint about the accuracy of a May 1, 2025, article published by the Waterloo Region Record.
Alan Marshall filed a complaint with the NNC stating concern that a statement contained incorrect information about a local chemical plant. The article reported that an individual who was featured in an iconic photo capturing a napalm strike in the Vietnam War had received an honorary doctorate from a nearby university in recognition of her work supporting child victims of war.
The complainant took issue with the statement, “When workers, companies and the provincial government were fighting about compensation for workers who developed cancer after being exposed to Agent Orange in the chemical plants in Elmira, Tran got angry.”
The complainant, a former member of the chemical plant’s public advisory committee, noted that there was only one chemical plant in the area that produced Agent Orange. He also noted that there did not appear to be any evidence of a compensation issue that was raised against the company.
In response to the complainant’s concerns, the news organization agreed that there was only one local plant involved in the production of Agent Orange and that “plant” should have been singular. The news organization also noted that there was an example of a former healthcare worker at the facility who filed a claim for compensation after developing cancer, but that her claim was denied.
The news organization emphasized the importance of ensuring accuracy and took steps to remedy the matter. It updated the piece to remove the statement in question and ran a correction in the online and printed editions noting the change for readers.
In its review, the NNC considered standards surrounding accuracy and best practices on issuing corrections. In cases of errors of fact, best practice is to investigate the matter and issue corrections or clarifications for readers where appropriate in a clear and consistent manner.
In this case, the NNC recognizes that the story centred on the life and achievements of the individual who was being recognized for her humanitarian contributions, rather than a piece about the actions of the local chemical plant.
That said, the NNC agrees with the news organization that ensuring accuracy in the facts, no matter how small the details, is an important part of adhering to journalistic standards. For this reason, it supports the news organization’s efforts to investigate the concerns raised and remedy the issue in both print and online versions of the article.
For the reasons outlined above, the NNC considered the matter resolved.