Thread by @mediamorphis

Media framing of ongoing events in Ottawa & elsewhere in Canada as a protest against Covid-19 public health measures is misleading. The journalists do so in this article do & so does a lot of the coverage. theglobeandmail.com/politics/artic… #EmergenciesAct #OttawaSiege

The #OttawaSiege, #AmbassadorBridgeblockade #Coutts were not conceived of or organized by those opposed to public health-related restrictions, eg. vax mandates, etc., but by a hardcore, long-standing group of rightwing extremists in Canada w/ US & int'l support. 2/

That core group that conceived & put these events in motion have subsequently been bubble-wrapped by other protestors who are NOT extremists. Some of the latter have claims that fall well w/i the bounds of legitimate protest. Others are using these events to put their long- 3/

standing, grab bag of anti-state grievances into the spot light. They have been chanting their slogans & driving trucks around the Ottawa Valley area flying F*ck Trudeau signs for a few years. Their views are not extremist but do edge in that direction. 4/ flickr.com/photos/wiless/…

Such signs have been around Ottawa Valley for @ least a decade. I see such anti-statist views as nuts & anti-democratic, but not as rightwing extremism. It's these & similar views+those of "average people done with Covid" that are the bubble wrapping around an extremist core.

Here's a thread where I try to disentangle the many overlapping threads that make distinguishing b/w legitimate protest vs the rightwing extremist driven insurrection so hard but absolutely critical as we try to find our way out of the #ottawaseige.

https://twitter.com/mediamorphis/status/1493690539216146442

I really hope a lot of journalists read it to (a) see why framing these events is so important & (b) how both the insurrectionists & (lawful but fringe) anti-state groups pose a direct, mounting & well documented threat to them & democracy.