CBC journalist broke code by attacking carbon tax story he never read

An Alberta-based CBC journalist broke the CBC's code when he critiqued a story he never read, according to Blacklock's Reporter.

Max Fawcett, who is an energy journalist with the CBC, attacked the hard-working folks at Blacklock's Reporter, calling them "shamelessly dishonest" after they published a story about carbon tax.

Fawcett would also say that "lies and deceit keep spreading," despite never having read the story in the first place. Fawcett said there was "an environment where misinformation thrives and where one side has repeatedly shown its willingness to spread it about the carbon tax."

The story reported on how the federal government was earning more in carbon tax than they redistributed in rebates. This contradicted the prime minister's claims that Canadians "will be better off" with a carbon tax in place.

Fawcett did not read the story but decided to go ahead with his attack on the outlet and the article anyway.

The CBC Ombudsman has since said that "there was a violation of Journalistic Standards And Practices when CBC published the column initially."

"That is because it contained an inaccuracy that misrepresented the actions of Blacklock’s Reporter," added the Ombudsman.

The Ombudsman later said "I do understand why you would expect anyone writing about a Blacklock’s article to have read that article."