Weaponizing Veterans
The Danger of CPC Misinformation
I have not felt good about the state of politics in Canada for some time. I’ve elaborated on this in a couple of previous articles and have found much to criticize in both major parties. However, one party appears to be importing the MAGA strategy of flooding the zone with lies and outrageous claims in an effort to generate outrage and support.
I wasn’t surprised, then, when my online day began with this gem from an Alberta Conservative Member of Parliament.
It’s an easily disproven lie. There are photos and videos of dozens of Canadian flags at the ceremony, including those carried by the SkyHawks parachute demonstration team. The post was followed by a flurry of rebuttal tweets, but it is still up and circulating. Making matters worse, Richards included a video with statements from veterans appearing before a parliamentary committee, taken completely out of context. Senior CPC members, including veterans, have reposted this as fact.
“Veterans are outraged.” Which veterans? Well, the post was immediately seized by the far-right, including members of “Veterans for Freedom,” as yet another example of how the Marxists are taking over. A senior member, Jeff Evely, reposted Richards’ statement along with this utter nonsense:
“It’s war." Never mind that everything in Evely’s post is fabricated, likely while he was on one of his anti-immigration tours with MAGA in the U.S. So, now we know which “veterans” were outraged – the far-right fringe. Every time a “mainstream” politician pushes lies and extreme rhetoric, it is seized upon by the fringes as a call to action.
These calls to arms are incredibly dangerous and have the potential to result in real-world harm. That they’re given a wink and a nod from a major party only makes things worse. It is becoming harder and harder to balance my criticisms between the parties as one uses increasing decisive, dystopian, and dangerous rhetoric. The fact that the Conservatives seem intent on using veterans as a cudgel to attack the current government intensifies my disdain for their approach.
The current CPC catchphrase is that they are "Common Sense Conservatives." Such bald-faced lies as the one above hardly demonstrate common sense and certainly don’t inspire confidence. That the more rational Conservative MPs remain silent doesn’t inspire confidence either; they need to get a grip on this before someone pays the ultimate price. Moreover, voters need to hold their representatives accountable for what they say and to call out fabrications and inflammatory rhetoric. Our democracy may depend on it.
While I agree with you completely on this subject, I see no hope in any member of the Conservative Party trying to rein this is. They are pushing it just as much as the American MAGA are and for the same reason. Power. The Conservatives have been learning and learning well from Harper and all his “friends” at the Heritage Foundation.
This isn’t something uniquely Canadian or American, it is world wide and a great deal of it comes from Russian interference in our societies. They figured out long before we did that social media is a hell of a great way to spread propaganda, disinformation and lies to huge groups of vulnerable people. Simply talking g to some of those who are screaming about BC having turned into a hell hole, is like speaking a different language. These are people who stopped learning the second they left school and who now get ALL their information from social media, or from one of the MSM all but 5% who are owned by Right wingers. And they are completely infected by the Trump MAGA disease! If governments around the world do nothing else, what they do need to do is rein in every and all social media outlets and make the spreading of violence, misogyny, racism, and outright hatred of “others” illegal.
Thanks for the angry post, Sir. I agree with every word. I've been listening to the great Yuval Harari a great deal lately, and here are two quotes that have stayed with me: "Bots and algorithms should never have 'freedom of speech', and should never masquerade as humans."
"History is often made by a small percentage of the population". And unfortunately he goes on to say that it's usually the zealots, religious or political.
I'm an optimist by nature, but I find pessimism creeping in day-by-day.