The organizers of the Edmonton torch rally claimed that the focus was on the lockdown and "persecution of Christian pastors" who refused to abide by bylaws 1/17
https://twitter.com/CBCCalgary/status/1364188404221702145?s=20
However they also had other targets. They attacked the "globalists", health professionals, science, the left in general and "antifa specifically", among others.
They also went after the media. 2/17
They also went after the media. 2/17
Journalist @BaileyNitti posted a clip of her collegues being harassed by Brad Carrigan, one of the organizers as well as Dawid Pawlowski whose bother Artur was the other organizer. 3/17
https://twitter.com/BaileyNitti/status/1363556305588211712?s=20
In fact there is a great deal of footage in which participants specifically targeted the media. 4/17
Some of the encounters were as equally nonsensical and they were threatening. 5/17
The media was especially targeted after Dawid's arrest at a time when tensions were very high and the situation potentially explosive. 6/17
Now I don't think that the media shouldn't be subject to criticism. I also think that a lot of media is sensationalized and sometimes partisan.
Still, a democracy dies in darkness and the fourth estate is an absolute necessity. 7/17
Still, a democracy dies in darkness and the fourth estate is an absolute necessity. 7/17
What happens then when there are forces that aim to discredit the media when they can't control the message? 8/17
The whole "fake news" schtick didn't originate with Trump though he did weaponize the rhetoric more than any politician in my lifetime. The press has been a target for years by those, primarily in the right, who claim the media is biased against them specifically. 9/17
But the demonizing and discrediting journalism has even darker history in the last 100 years. 10/17
haaretz.com/us-news/the-om…
haaretz.com/us-news/the-om…
11/17
And if you can get those who support you to reject information that doesn't conform to their biases, then it is easier to control those people. 12/17
Case in point, a post about the rally by Wayne Peters who runs "What's Up Canada" on Facebook. Note the comments by his supporters. 13/17
14/17
And when these groups have come to believe that the free press is the "enemy of the people"... 15/17
...then it shouldn't be a surprise that the rhetoric becomes more extreme. 16/17
And the threats towards these, and other "enemies" as demonstrated here by Wayne Peters becomes dangerous. 17/17
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