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When Compared to Americans, Canadians are still Naive about Extremist Groups

by bcurry

Finally, something very interesting is coming out of the House select committee investigating the January 6th 2021 assault on the U.S. Capitol. Ten days before the attack, a Secret Service field office relayed one tip sent to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) warning that members of the far-right nationalist gang the Proud Boys planned to march, armed, into Washington DC. For years, federal law enforcement agencies have sounded the alarm about rising threats of far-right violence in congressional testimony, in-depth reports and internal memos. Months before 2020 presidential election, the FBI issued an intelligence report warning that far-right groups and white supremacists pose a “violent extremist threat” to the U.S. and the 2021 presidential inauguration, which could serve as a “potential flashpoint” for violence. Even with all this available intelligence, largely because of Donald Trump’s continued provocation and resulting inaction, we know what tragically happened on that day.

Here in Canada, there is similar awareness among government agencies such as the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) and the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) who are at the forefront of Canada’s national security system. For years, they have been aware of the activities of foreign and domestic extremist elements operating in Canada. To be sure, there are linkages and interactions among several far-right groups and white supremacists between Canada and the U.S. The Internet has simply made the constant communication among such groups all that easier. This includes platforms and messaging apps like QAnon-hosting 8Kun, Parler, Gab and Telegram; and even such mainstream platforms like Facebook groups and on Instagram stories, Reddit, TikTok, Twitter and YouTube.

Despite the evident surveillance of extremists by the RCMP and CSIS in Canada and constant communication with foreign security agencies, including the FBI and Secret Service, most Canadians continue to be unaware of their activities in the country. The Trucker Convoy, which occupied Canada’s capital last winter for three weeks and set up blockades at U.S.-Canada borders, had several extremist elements behind its planning and illegal operations. Taken somewhat by surprise, this forced the federal government to take the unprecedented action of invoking the Emergencies Act in order to help end the Trucker Convoy’s activities. Authorities appeared to have been taken by surprise by the extent to which small groups could carry out such protests in a threatening way and even call for the overthrow and replacement of the current legitimate federal government.

Like in the U.S., Canada has seen a significant polarization of the political spectrum. Right-wing extreme groups have latched onto Canada’s angry populism, especially during the COVID pandemic and the imposition of vaccine mandates and other restrictions by governments across the country. In Canada, at the very least, consensus politics is becoming a thing of the past. For some time, politicians have been blind to the new emerging reality while the liberal mainstream press remains arrogant and complacent. Indeed, some politicians have even gone as far as to show their vocal support for so-called freedom movements, although they represent a tiny fraction of the overall population. Governments have had to once again declare that the right to be heard does not include the breaking of laws and any promotion of violence.

For some time now, I have been highlighting the extent to which there have been radicalization movements in both countries. For example, The Role of Conspiracy Theories in Radicalizing North American White Folk, Potential of Insurgency Grows Everyday in U.S. and Canada, Canada also has its own Right-wing Extremist Groups, Right-wing Extremism is a Growing Concern in North American Communities, and White Extremism in North America is very Worrisome and Dangerous. As indicated in FBI and Secret Service documents and gathered intelligence prior to the January 6^th Capitol assault, there are mounds of evidence regarding the continuing activities of extremist groups in the U.S. One would hope that Canadian agencies and mainstream media are paying attention so that Canadians won’t be as naïve as they were prior to the Trucker Convoy last winter.

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Threats Against Politicians in Canada Becoming More Frequent and Inevitable

by bcurry

Verbal and physical threats against American politicians have been a constant factor in U.S. politics, with the most severe being the assassinations or attempts to assassinate politicians since that of John F. Kennedy. In Canada, threats against political figures have grown in the last decade in particular. During the 2019 federal electoral campaign, even Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was forced by his security detail in an “unprecedented” step to wear a bulletproof vest at a number of rallies. It was also unprecedented to have a heavily armed uniformed Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) tactical team in plain sight around Trudeau, since normally they are in the background and out of site. Just recently, Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland was verbally accosted by a man in a hotel lobby in Grande Prairie, Alberta. The incident, although Ms. Freeland was not physically hurt, is now under investigation by the RCMP for potential criminal charges. At the moment, there is an election in the province of Quebec where emotions run high over the provincial government’s handling of the pandemic. Security around Quebec’s provincial party leaders appears to be high in the early days of the election campaign. The potential of threats has forced Party Quebecois (PQ) leader Paul St-Pierre Plamondon to wear a bulletproof vest to keep him safe. His party certainly recalls the deadly election-night shooting that marred the victory party of former PQ premier Pauline Marois in September 2012. Quebec provincial police spokesman Nicolas Scholtus did not confirm whether security around the campaigning leaders was higher than in previous years, but he acknowledged that there was a rise in reports of harassment or threats directed at Quebec politicians during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Numerous Canadian politicians of all stripes condemned recent incidents of hateful threats against the PM and ministers in his cabinet, especially where female ministers and members of Parliament are targeted. The general theme of condemnation is that such behaviour has no place in Canada. They sincerely believe that people all run for office to promote dialogue on important public policy issues, and harassment like this cannot be tolerated. However, simply issuing statements of condemnation most likely will not have an impact on the current political environment. The RCMP and other enforcement agencies will have to continue to collect intelligence and conduct threat assessments for all events that political leaders attend.

Michael Kempa, an associate professor of criminology at the University of Ottawa, pointed out that politicians everywhere have been facing increased threats due to what he calls “the new reality of polarization and violence that’s directed against public facing political leaders and other activists in our community.” Professor Kempa attributes this in part to the spread of U.S. political culture, where threat levels have been high for years, and also to the COVID-19 pandemic. Canadians can no longer rely on a tradition of promoting civility in political dialogue. In an age of social media and digital conspirators, it has become difficult to lower the temperature of the political climate. There are just too many disgruntled and angry individuals out there who are convinced that threats and violence are the only way in which to confront governments and politicians. Unfortunately, the continuing outrage by Donald Trump followers after the F.B.I.’s seizure of classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago, Florida residence, has only contributed to further threats against government agencies, including the U.S. Justice Department and even the National Archives. It doesn’t help that one of Mr. Trump’s closest allies, Senator Lindsey Graham, Republican of South Carolina, issued a similar warning that Mr. Trump quickly reposted on his social media platform. Mr. Graham, in a Fox News appearance on August 28^th, predicted that if the search of Mar-a-Lago led to a prosecution of the former president, there would be “riots in the streets”.

Canada has its own radical factions, as demonstrated by the occupation of its capital, Ottawa, by members of the truckers’ convoy for three weeks in January of this year. There is little doubt that federal and provincial politicians will be a target for disgruntled individuals and groups. One can only hope that there will be no resulting physical assaults on politicians and leaders. I’m afraid that given the current polarization within Canadian society that such eventuality cannot be prevented, despite heightened security measures for political figures.

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Once Donald Trump’s Actions Were Considered Farcical, Now They’re Considered Dangerous

by bcurry

During the former president’s term in office, Donald Trump often became the butt of many a comedian jokes, most notably on NBC’s Saturday Night Live. Yes, previous presidents have been made fun of from time to time. However, once Trump lost the election and his declaration that the election was stolen led to the January 6^th assault on the Capitol, he has now become even more dangerous. No longer as the president, recent events have shown how his actions and statements have created a precarious situation. The search this past week by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) of his private residence at his Mar-a-Lago Club in Palm Beach, Florida., was one more incident of now citizen Trump believing he is above the law. The legal search appeared to be part of a long-running investigation of whether documents — some of them top-secret — were taken there instead of being sent to the National Archives when Trump left office. There could be several violations falling under federal statutes, including the Espionage Act and Presidential Records Act. Apparently, about twelve boxes containing classified documents were seized by the FBI.

Immediately after news broke of the FBI search at Trump’s Florida residence, posts began appearing on Truth Social, the Twitter-like social media platform backed by former Trump’s media and technology company. Truth Social users called for civil war and advocated for violence against the FBI, some of the posts remaining online days after they were originally posted, according to NBC News. Unfortunately, a number of Republicans and media sources such as Fox News and Breibart News attacked the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), specifically Attorney General Merrick Garland, FBI Director Christopher A. Wray and the FBI agents as part of the Democrat’s plot to tarnish the reputation of Donald Trump and to prevent him from running again in 2024. According to the warrant and receipt of what authorities seized, Trump is being investigated for possibly breaking three federal laws: removal or destruction of records, obstructing an investigation and violating the Espionage Act. Serious stuff!

The result of Trump’s accusing the DOJ and FBI of contributing to a witch hunt and that he had done nothing wrong, talk of violence by his supporters continues to mount. Threats have been made against the federal judge who authorized the warrant to search for classified material and FBI agents whose names were on the warrant and receipt. Then on August 11^th, a 42-year-old Ohio man, identified as Ricky W. Shiffer, showed up at the Cincinnati field office of the FBI with an AR-15-style rifle. Subsequently, he was shot to death after firing multiple times at the police during a standoff. Mr. Shiffer’s social media posts later revealed that he was full of rage about, among other things, the search at Mar-a-Lago.

As Alan Feuer of the New York Times notes, as right-wing rhetoric escalates, so do threats and violence. In his August 13th article, he refers to a study by Robert Pape, a professor at the University of Chicago who studies political violence. Professor Pape conducted half a dozen nationwide polls since the Jan. 6th attack and has repeatedly found the same alarming results: that between 15 million and 20 million American adults believe that violence would be justified to return Mr. Trump to office. Instead of defusing the situation, Donald Trump, along with his supporters, continue to promote conspiracy theories. He believes that a number of current investigations are simply examples of his ‘persecution’ by Democratic administrations in Washington and New York State. Once again, the whole affair is a hoax. He and members of his family have even suggested, ridiculously, that the classified documents were likely planted by the FBI during the search. Even former Vice-President Mike Pence was quoted as sharing the “deep concern of millions of Americans over the unprecedented search of the personal residence of President Trump.” Pence declared that after years where FBI agents were found to be acting on political motivation during his administration, the appearance of continued partisanship by the DOJ had to be addressed. Remember how Trump fired then FBI Director James Comey in 2017 because he refused to pledge his loyalty to the President, no matter what!

Unless the hostile rhetoric and threats are quickly dealt with, there is little doubt that more violent incidents could occur, particularly against the targeted individuals noted above. Obviously, the investigation by the DOJ and FBI is no joke. This is the first time since Nixon and ‘Watergate’ that a former President is under investigation for violating several federal statutes. My understanding is that no one is above the law. However, under the current climate, the political ramifications of pursuing Donald Trump could determine whether further violence occurs and what will be the potential impact on the 2024 presidential election.

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Incredible Scenes of Democratic Representatives in Congress Being Arrested During Protests

by bcurry

Earlier this past week during an abortion rights protest over the Supreme Court’s recent decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, at least 17 Democratic lawmakers were among the 35 people arrested by the Capitol Police for blocking traffic outside the courthouse. The arrest of lawmakers in this manner is something almost unheard of in Canada. Canadian legislators tend to be somewhat docile when outside the House of Commons in Ottawa. The most that Members of Parliament (MP) will do is to attend peaceful protests on the front lawn of Parliament’s centre block, sometimes to speak in support of some cause or another. I can’t remember the last time that an MP was arrested as part of any protest in Ottawa. However, back in March 2018, two federal politicians, including Green Party Leader Elizabeth May and New Democratic Party (NDP) MP Kennedy Stewart, were arrested at a protest against Kinder Morgan’s Trans Mountain federally approved pipeline expansion in Burnaby, British Columbia.

On the other hand, in Washington, such incidences among House Representatives appear to have happened in other cases. Indeed, it was reported that Rep. Judy Chu, D-Calif., was arrested last month outside the Supreme Court for protesting. In July 2021, Rep. Joyce Beatty, D-Ohio, chairwoman of the Congressional Black Caucus, was arrested at the Hart Senate Office Building for protesting in favor of voting rights legislation.

Protests are protected by the First Amendment of the American Constitution, but like in Canada, there is still the need for protesters to abide by laws. In the most recent incident, the U.S. Capitol Police tweeted about the situation: “Demonstrators are starting to block First Street, NE. It is against the law to block traffic, so officers are going to give our standard three warnings before they start making arrests.” In light of the minor violation, those arrested were later released at the scene, with police telling the ABC News they were likely to face a $US50 ($72.48 Canadian) fine. Among those arrested was Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-NY, who became the youngest woman elected to the House of Representatives, and has rocketed to political notoriety. The arrests of Rep. Ocasio-Cortez and the other Democrats resulted in coverage by a large number of news media outlets and extensively by social media sources. There is little doubt that this type of media coverage involving lawmakers gives a protest a good deal of press, good and bad.

Former charismatic Prime Minister Pierre Elliott Trudeau, who was PM from 1968 to 1979 and from 1980 to 1984, once exclaimed to the house speaker that opposition MPs were nobodies once they were “50 yards from Parliament Hill”. Of course, that was before social media and daily digital news. Most recently, several opposition Conservative MPs, including leadership contender Pierre Poilievre, met with the illegal Trucker Convoy which had occupied the streets in front of Parliament for over three weeks in February of this year. The New York Times wrote that the Conservatives, the only other party to form a government in Canada, were readying for a fight and saw the truckers and their followers not as outcasts but as political currency that can bring in votes — and money. With his photo-op, Poilievre was depicted as the protesters’ political champion at the time, although as the illegal occupation continued Conservative support was condemned by many Canadians, and most certainly by those living in Ottawa at the time. No other party MPs met with the protesters, viewing the occupation as being unlawful, eventually being removed by the police and leading to the arrests of dozens of protesters. The social and economic impact of the occupation ultimately led to the federal government’s invocation of the Emergencies Act to facilitate the removal of occupying vehicles from streets within the Parliamentary precinct in Ottawa.

In general, Canadian legislators tend to avoid participation in protests, many of which occur in the capital on a daily basis. Even members of the left-wing NDP are normally careful not to participate in protests outside of the legislature, particularly those involving extremists. The one big difference in Canada is the more apolitical system used for appointing federal justices, including those appointed to the Supreme Court. With the highly politicized recent decisions of the U.S. Supreme Court — comprised of four conservative-leaning justices who were appointed during the Trump administration — it is not surprising that protests have erupted outside the Supreme Court. What’s surprising is the participation by members of Congress in such protests and their subsequent arrests by Capitol Police! This is something that is unheard of in Canada — perhaps somewhat regrettably in certain cases. However, time will tell for our “nobodies”.

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The Internet Was a Blessing Until It Became a Curse

by bcurry

A judge just threw out Donald Trump’s lawsuit against Twitter that challenged his ban from the social media platform. U.S. District Judge James Donato rejected Trump’s claim that Twitter violated his right to freedom of speech guaranteed under the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. He simply declared that Twitter is a private company, and ‘the First Amendment applies only to governmental abridgements of speech, and not to alleged abridgements by private companies.’ When Trump’s account (with over 88 million followers) was suspended by Twitter, he went on to set up his own platform Truth Social which apparently has not done very well. Now, the question arises over whether Twitter’s takeover by Tesla CEO Elon Musk will offer Trump a possible return to the social media platform.

Marshall McLuhan, a well-known Canadian philosopher whose work was among the cornerstones of the study of media theory in the late sixties, coined the expression “the medium is the message” and the term “global village”. He is credited with predicting the World Wide Web (WWW) almost 30 years before it was invented. Little did he know, having passed away in late 1980, of the incredible eventual impact on our daily lives of the Internet. The Internet is this generation’s equivalent to the telegraph, the telephone and the fax machines that allowed us to communication instantaneously and broadly across the globe. However, as a marvellous communication tool, the Internet has also proven to be more susceptible to the spreading of misinformation and disinformation than any other means in modern times.

When one talks of ‘misinformation’, one is normally referring to suspect, invalid and often poorly researched information passed on by persons to other persons via social media for example. Often such information is transmitted without real malice, but simply and inadvertently by persons accepting the information as being valid or such that supports preconceived views, referred to a ‘confirmation bias’. ‘Disinformation’ on the other hand is where someone is deliberately providing false information in support of their causes, goals or conspiracy theories, similar to what we would view as propaganda. Unfortunately, we are seeing a lot more disinformation being conveyed via the Internet then ever before. States or organizations that want to control the flow of information for their own purposes are notorious for facilitating the spread of disinformation, especially as a form of mind control within their borders. One needs to go no further for examples than Russia, North Korea and Iran.

Unfortunately, during the Covid-19 pandemic, certain groups within the U.S. and Canada began disinformation campaigns against the public health measures introduced by many governments to deal with the tragic consequences of Covid on our lives. The information was used to justify anti-vax, anti-mask, anti-lockdown and other public health mandates, regardless of their evident effectiveness in controlling the spread of Covid and reducing the number of associated deaths and hospitalizations. These campaigns of course led to numerous protests in both countries easily and quickly arranged via social media, often tying up scarce government resources. In addition, groups have used the Internet to spread ridiculous conspiracy theories, the most notable being that which promoted the belief that the results of the 2020 Presidential election were affected by corrupt voter fraud. This culminated in a mob of Trump supporters attacking the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021, after Trump repeatedly said that he would never concede the legitimate election.

We must do a better job of educating future generations about the potential pitfalls of relying on one or two sources for information, particularly those who rely on non-verifiable and suspect origins. We need to be much more suspect when assessing the accuracy and validity of our Internet sources, be they found in social media or on websites. I might suggest strongly that we include mainstream news media and websites provided by objective professional organizations as an integral and regular part of one’s information sources. Perhaps this is easier said than done. After all, access to information via social media in particular is quick and dirty. Regrettably, this is what the purveyors of disinformation and misinformation are counting on.

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The Palestinian-Israeli Conflict Once Again Raises the Issue of Bias in Journalism

by bcurry

Back in February 22, 2019, an opinion article in the Washington Post by Jeremy Littau talked about the five myths of journalism. One of the myths alluded to is the belief that good journalism must be objective. However, Littau points out that the press in the past was more often than not openly biased. Indeed, he points out that The American Press Institute says the public has developed a flawed conception of news objectivity by confusing it with lack of bias. On the other hand, I have read that some believe that younger journalists tend to be more activist, thereby leading to more overt bias in their coverage of news events. The very terms that they use to describe or portray these events often illustrate such biases. Some have even demonstrated evident biases through their personal social media outlets. This can lead to their dismissal by news outlets as it has on occasion in the U.S.

Nowhere was the nature of journalistic integrity challenged more then during the reporting in both the U.S. and Canada on the recent Palestinian-Israeli conflict. In some cases, choice phrases were borrowed from implicated groups to describe Israel’s attacks on Gaza, such as “indiscriminate airstrikes”. The phrases “ethnic cleansing” and “forced expulsions” emerged to describe what is happening in the occupied Palestinian territories, phrases often employed by some human rights groups. Of course, it didn’t take long to discover that input about the conflict on social media was by far more favourable to the Palestinian cause than to Israeli justification for its military actions. Heartbreaking videos being released and viewed by millions provided clear evidence of the resulting destruction within Gaza. Not only did these appear on social media, but many were selectively used by news outlets to describe the scene, especially those depicting injured women and children. The emotive term “humanitarian disaster”, whether justified or not, was repeatedly used to describe the tragic situation on the ground. Moreover, one would have to do a more in-depth study to assess whether and how many biases did occur among reputable news outlets. How were journalists influenced in their accounts and by whom?

As Andrew MacDougall, a communications consultant, pointed out: “It’s one thing for an opinion journalist to make such an incendiary claim; it’s another for a straight-news reporter to do the same.” Despite what journalism schools may proclaim on the need for objectivity, MacDougall sees younger journalists increasingly identifying themselves as activists as much as they do practitioners of the news craft. Furthermore, this cohort views journalism as a means to an end, a tool to produce the changes it wishes to seek in society. There is little doubt that journalists can be influenced by accounts of events on social media, but by how much is another story? It cannot be easy to maintain objectivity in an era of the me-too generation, Black Lives Matter, indigenous issues, systemic racism against minorities, etc., etc. Activism is most often encouraged on campuses and its influences upon journalism faculties are just as certain to be found on most campuses.

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Issues Surrounding Daily News Now Being Absorbed Electronically In Bits and Bytes

by bcurry

In 2008, I read an interesting book by Mark Bauerlein entitled “The Dumbest Generation”. In it, the author discusses how the Digital Age stupefies young Americans, asserting that this jeopardizes our future. The results may be particularly problematic given that many Canadians, Americans and others get the majority of their local, national and international news through electronic media. As asserted in the past (Finally the American mainstream media got it right – Oct. 26, 2020) there has been a significant decline in mainstream print media. There also has been a lot of misinformation and disinformation put out by online sources trying to appear to be reliable sources of news. Unfortunately, way too much of this situation occurred during the Trump era, as witnessed by conspiracies surrounding the 2020 presidential election and the COVID-19 pandemic.

How many people really take the time to consult mainstream media outlets in print, on the radio, on television and through the Internet? When researching a story, I like to have as many facts as possible and sometimes several interpretations of those facts from several reliable sources. By reliable, I mean that the reports have been vetted a number of times and the dependability of the sources has been confirmed. Unfortunately, this is frequently not the case with many Internet sources. In addition, while we all have our opinions about a subject matter, we should try to obtain as many viewpoints as possible before reaching too quickly any immediate conclusions. Failure to do so leads us to what is referred to as “confirmation bias”. This is where one attempts to confirm one’s beliefs and viewpoints by selectively seeking out those sources which simply reinforce our preconceptions.

Unfortunately, this is what a lot of extreme right-wing or left-wing proponents do in order to justify their interpretations of news events. The extreme right has for years festered in a variety of places on the Internet, including 4chan, Parler, Gab, CloutHub, etc., etc. Of course, then there is the Breitbart News Network (known commonly as Breitbart News) which is an American far-right syndicated news, opinion and commentary website founded in mid-2007. Breitbart has published a number of falsehoods and conspiracy theories as well as intentionally misleading stories, including claims that Hillary Clinton and the Obama administration supported the ISIS. Breitbart columnists love to attack The Washington Post and The New York Times as being “the mortal enemy of conservatism” (Joshua Klein, Breitbart, 25 Dec. 2020). Normally, it is rare for mainstream media to attack another media source in this manner, but not for Breitbart. Breitbart also spent an inordinate amount on its election news coverage, especially anything dealing with unfounded allegations that the Democrats stole the election from Trump.

More has to be done to alert young people in particular about the need to seek out news from different sources, including mainstream print media. It is just not good enough to have them be informed by too conveniently accessing bits and bytes. There is a real danger that they will be influenced by conspiracy theories and could become radicalized in one form or another. Want to know about historical events, read a book or view documentaries on the History Channel. Even better, talk to some informed people who actually witnessed the events in real time. The truth is out there, one only has to take the time and make an effort to find it.

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Maybe It’s Time That We All Look More Closely How ‘Twitter’ Is Being Used

by bcurry

Online harassment and hate speech have long festered on Twitter, but the incidents appeared to have risen during the 2016 presidential campaign. Exchanges between supporters of Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton grew personal and acrimonious. Of course, over the last four years, Trump has used twitter as his personal means to attack opponents and to spew conspiracy theories such as claiming that the Democrats had stolen the presidential election. Twitter finally did the right thing and cut him off after the Capitol riot which he helped to instigate. Now, an interesting defemation case against Twitter has arisen in Canada — more specifically in British Columbia (B.C.).

B.C. billionaire Frank Giustra, a Vancouver businessman and philanthropist, has recently won the right to sue Twitter for defamation after a judge ruled that B.C. courts have jurisdiction to hear the case. Moreover, the case once again highlights the fact that there are jurisdictional difficulties with internet defamation cases. Under American law, Twitter would not be liable for damages to Giustra in the U.S. due to freedom of speech provisions in the First Amendment. However, in Canada the question becomes whether Canadian common law provides similar protections for a platform such as Twitter. The answer would have to be determined in Canadian courts, with a possibility of eventually ending up in the Supreme Court of Canada.

Remember the infamous “Pizzagate”. In the above case, tweets promoting a conspiracy theory had gone out during the 2016 U.S. presidential election that Hillary Clinton and other supporters were involved in child sex-trafficking. Among those supporters targeted was Frank Giustra who sits on the board of the Clinton Foundation, a non-profit organization founded by former U.S. president Bill Clinton. The related tweets also left the false impression that Mr. Giustra was corrupt, a “murderous thief” and a criminal. The whole crazy conspiracy was of course debunked.

There is nothing particularly new about Twitter being accused of allowing hate speech and disinformation to permeate its platform. What is especially interesting is that this self-made billionaire is financially capable of taking on an internet Goliath in the courts, with possibly a good chance of winning his defamation case under Canadian common law. Once again, people are hoping that this particular lawsuit will help raise public awareness of the real harm to society if social media platforms are not held responsible for the content posted and published on their sites. Although Twitter has yet to file a response to the defamation claims, the company has indicated it intends to defend the case mainly on the basis that it is not a publisher of the tweets. Unfortunately, the time normally taken to try such cases in the courts can be very lengthy, even taking several years for final judgement. In the meantime, it behooves us all to be aware of the real flaws and dangers associated with the misuse of social media, including those surrounding Twitter.

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Conspiracy Theories Abound Under the Trump Administration

by bcurry

Never in the past when I was studying American politics have I seen as many conspiracy theories being touted by a President and a party than under the Trump administration. First, one has the President arguing that mail-in ballots only lead to electoral fraud, without any clear evidence to back up his belief. Unfortunately, the result has been an attempt by the administration to undermine the U.S. Postal Service in advance of the November elections through deliberate cutbacks. All this during the pandemic!

Next is the President’s expressed appreciation for the support of QAnon. The QAnon conspiracy theory is based on unfounded claims that there is a “deep state” apparatus run by political elites, business leaders and Hollywood celebrities who are also pedophiles. They are actively working against Trump. Supporters of the Democratic Party have been described nonsensically as belonging to a satanic cult of pedophiles and cannibals. Here we have a group comprised of conspiracy advocates that even the FBI has identified as a domestic terrorism threat. Their theories have resulted in violence by followers.

Then there is Trump’s unsubstantiated accusation that he is saving the world from “… radical left philosophy that will destroy this country.” Again, with no substantive evidence, the President is claiming that the Biden ticket is out to implement some form of radical socialism into American society. Nothing in the Democratic platform would substantiate such a ridiculous claim.

Finally, there was the claim by Trump’s administration that the coronavirus outbreak was the result of being released by a laboratory in China. Further investigations, including those by the World Health Organization, have proven that this conspiracy theory was not only untrue but also nonsensical. Why would the Chinese deliberately introduce a new virus into the population which would sicken thousands and even kill thousands of people in China, while seriously damaging the Chinese economy at the same time? On the other hand, the President initially even referred to COVID-19 as a “hoax”, a belief unfortunately taken up by many of his supporters resulting in serious health consequences.

It is regrettable and a tragedy that, during a time of major economic, political and health challenges, one has a regime that is perpetuating conspiracy theories. As always, I imagine that history will be the final judge.

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Starting in the early nineties, Americans have been divided over what is objective journalism

by bcurry

Today, where does the average American get their daily news from? Why are they dependent on one or two sources more than ever before? Are they interested in “objective journalism” or simply seeking out opinions that confirm their biases — known as “confirmation bias”?

Today we know that people get their news from various media sources: including traditional print media such as newspapers, television and talk radio, and increasingly over internet media such as that found on Facebook and Google. These internet and non-print sources have especially hurt print newspapers. The verifying evidence is certainly there:

The loss of classified ads to non-print sources has hurt newspaper advertising revenue, which dropped from $63.5 billion to $23 billion from 2000 to 2013, according to the Brookings Institution.
According to PewResearchCenter, by 2016 the newspaper industry’s ad revenue was nearly a third of what it was a decade before, falling to US$18 billion from US$49 billion.
Moreover, subscriber and advertiser revenue for traditional print journalism has been in free fall, and many think it started when newspapers offered content online for free.
In 1990, daily and weekly newspaper publishers employed about 455,000 people, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. By January 2016, that number had fallen to 173,000.

In the 1990s, publishing online became easy, which led to a surge of independent digital publications that produced original content while also re-reporting news from other outlets with a little bit of analysis added. This transformation has greatly affected mainstream media sources in particular.

As for television, many people are still tuning in to certain news outlets that tend to confirm their views. In June and July of this year for example, it was reported that Fox News was the highest-rated television channel in the prime-time hours of 8 to 11 p.m. Not just on cable. Not just among news networks. All of television. Fox News ratings demonstrate the size and resilience of America’s audience for pro-Trump opinion, and the loyalty of Fox News viewers who shrug off the numerous controversies that routinely swirl around the network. Whatever news source one watches, the reality is that the press has more often than not been openly biased in one way or another. Although actual journalists are taught to be objective, the fact of the matter is that their interpretation of the news will most often be viewed as being biased by individuals with preconceived political and social perspectives.

Indeed, the overall opinions of American journalists have worsened in recent years, as reflected in a general trend of public animosity toward journalists that bubbled up during the 2016 presidential campaign. Ivy Kaplan of the Globe Post writes, “A climate of hatred and hostility towards journalists in the United States has become significantly worse,” pointing to a sobering Reporters Without Borders report in 2018 that rated the U.S. as the sixth-most-lethal place in the world to practice journalism. Studies have found that that Republicans in particular don’t like or trust the news media. In Canada, the same can be said about conservatives who often refer to the “liberal media” in condescending terms.

“Objective journalism” appears to depend on the preconceptions of those who interpret the news. Journalism is not just about uncovering the facts and reporting on one’s findings, it is also about how the journalist presents them. Failure to appreciate this reality can mean the collapse of a news source if there is no longer a receptive audience. In this age of ready access and instant media sources, people want a quick and dirty accounting and interpretation of events in some easy to access presentation. The decline of traditional print media is just one obvious victim of this phenomenon.

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Satirical commentary on Canadian and American current political issues

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