CTV parts ways with journalist after coronavirus joke

On January 26, CTV journalist Peter Akman tweeted a joke and photo of himself standing in front of an Asian man wearing a mask. He's since been fired.

ADVERTISEMENT
Image
Anna Slatz Montreal QC
ADVERTISEMENT

On January 26, CTV investigative journalist Peter Akman tweeted a photo of himself standing in front of an Asian man wearing a mask with the caption “Hopefully ALL I got today was a haircut.”

This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is XQWH1LY-IVQ5fbyO1dQ-KINpoXVARFiLgpJT75zuSdRN1g31AfP28OvdacHiDmKRWrrMRDTLF2JH9gulY0dquHmNMOOQusRsMVqtWOCFBcu4n3ydGIxKi5_fBc9mFFzC3So_jsnM

The now-deleted tweet was poorly received, quickly amassing dozens of accusations of anti-Chinese racism and insensitivity in the face of what has just been declared a global health emergency by the World Health Organization.

Akman quickly apologized, responding to the backlash with a repeated copy-and-paste of his explanation of the situation. The man in the photo was apparently a barber in Akman’s city of Toronto and had been offering masks to patrons.

The statement was equally condemned by Twitter users, with many accusing Akman of refusing to acknowledge the racism behind his initial tweet:

Today, a source speaking to The Post Millennial provided information that Peter Akman was no longer working with CTV. The journalist’s profile no longer appears on CTV’s W5 Team Bios page, where it did just two days ago, according to the Internet Archive. His CTV profile has also been removed from the website.

This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is QMpdeXnhRu5hPyOb2vrF2QJpboo_yhJO9XCVVe3td1dqjQRCsXSMF_jMGqxAEMqYpgurbV-NSDttonZHkDta_XXz75QScoaBlMhxgpAk1tVdIu_3m-cxRdGvBFUSsHxyU98Id-EZ

Peter Akman had been an investigative journalist with CTV since 2013 after leaving CBC in 2006, and had gained some notoriety for reporting live from international sites such as Afghanistan, Israel, Kuwait, and Libya.

ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT

Join and support independent free thinkers!

We’re independent and can’t be cancelled. The establishment media is increasingly dedicated to divisive cancel culture, corporate wokeism, and political correctness, all while covering up corruption from the corridors of power. The need for fact-based journalism and thoughtful analysis has never been greater. When you support The Post Millennial, you support freedom of the press at a time when it's under direct attack. Join the ranks of independent, free thinkers by supporting us today for as little as $1.

Support The Post Millennial

Remind me next month

To find out what personal data we collect and how we use it, please visit our Privacy Policy

ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
By signing up you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy
ADVERTISEMENT
© 2024 The Post Millennial, Privacy Policy | Do Not Sell My Personal Information