2. Followers know that I generally stick to Canadian content unless there is a Canadian hook.
In this case the suspect, David DePape, grew up in Powell River, BC. He moved to California as a result of a relationship he was pursuing 20ish years ago.
3. While I wasn't able to look at his Facebook profile before it was removed it has been reported that it contained posts supporting the Trump lie the election had been stolen, Covid and other conspiracies such as the Great Reset, and anti-Trans rhetoric.
4. I was however able to take a look at what is alleged to have been his blog which if true is yet another example of how dangerous the spread of misinformation is online.
His last post before the attack was yesterday.
5. A word of warning before I continue that the remainder of this thread is disturbing so keep that in mind if you continue reading.
6. Most of the posts were simply links to videos, however he also included some of his own writing.
The most common posts were connected to antisemitic conspiracies.
7. Other posts were attacked Black Americans, immigrants, and other openly racist posts.
8. Also not surprising is that we see the same anti-Trans and "groomer" language that has been the latest shiny object that many on the right have latched onto, including candidates in recent Canadian and municipal and school board elections.
17. Of some interest it in this context that we have our first reference to some Canadian content in DePape's posting of a video featuring Lauren Southern and Brittany Pettibone (wife of founder of Generation Identity).
18. Of course we have the all-encompassing QAnon conspiracy that he accepted.
19.
20. A supporter of Trump's "Big Lie" about voter fraud, DePape posted that those journalist who say there was no evidence should be "dragged straight out into the street and shot."
21. So, yeah.
He is a Trump supporter if anyone suggests otherwise.
22. Now as the Emergencies Act hearings are currently taking place I think it is interesting and telling the DePape was echoing the same conspiracies as many of whom were involved in the #OttawaOccupation and border blockades.
23. Which brings us to a second piece of Canadian content in which he claims that the Canadian government has concealed deaths resulting from the vaccination which is another conspiracy echoed by people involved in the anti-mandate/vaxx occupation.
24. Further he bought into the suggestion that Canada's government was tyrannical, sharing a number of Jordan Peterson videos to support his claim.
25. And fyi, if you have been living under a rock, Jordan Peterson's influence over a significant number of people who believe his misinformation has become a lot more relevant again.
26. Finally, we have the Great Reset and WEF conspiracy.
27. This really is one that is being shared by a number of people, included former hockey players such as Theo Fleury who presumably believe it...
28. ...to political figures who look to be pandering to a base that believe the conspiracies.
31. I've written a number of times that misinformation is dangerous. While most might not act on it, there those who will as evidenced here and in a number of other cases.
32. Rather than doing more to stem the tide of disinformation however, there are others who promise to open the pipes to allow more sewage onto social media in the name of "free speech" regardless of the harm it causes... because it won't harm them.
1/ It's been a while since I've done a thread here, but the recent focus on Pat King got me to wondering what was up with his own Salacious Crumb, Tyson "Freedom George" Billings.
2/ Last time I looked at Billings he was a part of the efforts to set up a permenant camp outside Ottawa so there could be daily protests, though the original plan involved surrounding the police and arresting politicians.
Suffice to say it didn't go anywhere.
3/ Billings and Ron Clark soon headed home, but they both soon got involved in other protests including the anti-carbon tax protests occurring in the province. The numbers at these events have been small but that hasn't stopped from politicians from courting the fringes it seems.
1/ Though I'm not especially active these days, I'm still sometimes gobsmacked by some of the ridiculous (though sadly effective) rage farming by some on the right. Harrison Faulkner of "True North" is just a recent example of that.
2/ So a bit of background. Musical artist Karan Aujla won the 2024 TikTok Juno Fan Choice Award at the award ceremony this past weekend.
I think it was this weekend. Truth be told I don't pay a lot of attention to awards shows.
3/ It should be noted that Aujla has been in Canada for years emigrating as an orphan. He graduated from high school in Canada. The album was produced by a Canadian on a Canadian label.
1/ A couple of days ago self-proclaimed leaders of the "freedom movement" held a press conference in Ottawa which was about as unhinged as you might have expected.
2/ Apparently the person who set this up was Derek Noonan who was also one of the speakers.
That would be this guy and I shall get back to him shortly.
3/ Because these "freedom patriot" types are SUPER jealous of anyone getting even a tiny bit of the noteriety they seem to believe they deserve and are entitled to, Gordon Berry was not happy with the press conference.
1. Misinformation has always been a feature on Twitter but prior to Musk's ownership there appeared to be a minimal effort (very minimal) to counter it. Those days are clearly over.
Case in point, Theo Fleury shared this with his 285.8K followers today:
2. Before I go any further, no. This is not in fact true at all and a fact check would indicate that it isn't true.
Pictured here with Chrystia Freeland is her mother and sister.
3. When asked about the photo, the original poster said it was taken in 1967:
2. I am NOT going to post a clip covering every part of the video, but I do think there are a couple that are important.
First, Venne claims that he wasn't able to be himself and had to be careful how he spoke.
3. It appears that for people who complain about controlled narratives, Norm Blanchfield and Gordon Berry are really determined to control the narrative.