Here’s what happens when Facebook and Twitter are permitted to cheerfully provide a platform for hatred and lies
Newspapers are no longer very relevant politically, with a few exceptions. Sure, the Toronto Star uncovered that Mayor Rob Ford used crack. And, yes, the New York Times and the Washington Post have done exemplary work exposing the venality and the criminality of the Trump administration. But, in recent years, the roles daily newspapers played in the body politic – helping…
Few realize the extent to which the financial establishment uses fake news to fool the public
According to a growing army of critics, the mainstream media is unintentionally circulating fake news. Globe and Mail editor Evan Annett believes fake news has become a serious problem. Why? Because it's "media that’s custom-made to fool you." Establishing the truth of a news story is difficult enough, but with the rise of social media,…
Al Gore, David Suzuki and others would rather scare our children than tell them about the valuable contributions Canada makes every day to protect our planet
The release of Al Gore's film An Inconvenient Sequel: Truth to Power has drawn reactions from environmental groups and their critics, and made for some insightful dinnertime conversation with my children. Like many Canadian kids, they watched Gore's first film, An Inconvenient Truth, in the classroom. What bothers me is my children's belief that their…
People are people, we all want to live in peace, harmony and prosperity, and we can't be held back by walls
The German version of the popular 1980s song 99 Red Balloons, by Berlin-based band Nena, included the lyrics “99 Kriegsminister, Streichholz und Benzinkanister.” Translation: 99 war ministers, matches and petrol cans. While the lines lose some poetry when translated into English, they sum up the sentiment and the reality of the era. Those of us who grew up…
Once upon a time, a news story wasn't news until a legitimate news outlet carried it. Now, if it’s on somebody’s Twitter feed it’s a news story
The U.S. news media tells us the world is awash in fake news. Democrats blame it for the defeat of their candidate, Hillary Clinton, in the U.S. presidential elections. President Donald Trump rails against “fake news” from the “dishonest media,” singling out CNN. Facebook and Google, both of whom have been accused of being particularly…
Post-truth nonsense about fossil fuels paints a dangerous, damaging and distorted picture of Canada's energy use and production
One of the unfortunate legacies of 2016 is the frequency of ‘post-truth’ communications. The term describes communications where objective facts are replaced by erroneous assertions aimed at creating emotion-based beliefs. Post-truth communications reached a peak during the American presidential campaign. But Canadians have also seen an escalation of post-truth communications, particularly in relation to energy.…
In true journalism, opinion or commentary must be clearly labelled as such, and blending hard news with commentary is insidious
A United Nations decision to bar a Canadian news organization from next month’s Conference of the Parties (COP22) makes it clear it's time journalism becomes a self-regulating profession – much like doctors or lawyers. The Rebel, a right-leaning platform created by Ezra Levant, was denied access to the conference in Morocco because “advocacy media outlets do…
His one minute TV ad called Daisy won the 1964 election for U.S. President Lyndon Johnson
Since the late 1960s, we progressives have been trying to get back what we once had. That’s not to say that we have been incapable of winning in the interim, of course. Jean Chretien, Bill Clinton, Barack Obama and Justin Trudeau have shown that we can, when the circumstances are right, beat back conservatives. But…
Russian hacking of DNC emails? Sounds like business as usual in the modern history of political interference by other countries
The chatter over Russian hacking of Democratic National Committee emails seems overblown. Moscow’s role is interesting, but the huffing and puffing about the iniquity of one country trying to influence another’s election is silly. It happens all the time – Americans included. John F. Kennedy subtly targeted John Diefenbaker in Canada’s 1963 federal election. The idea was to…
The Ontario Public Service Employees Union's ad campaign against private liquor stores plays loose with the facts
One would have hoped that Canadians had gotten past the impulse to pick on other regions of the country to advance their personal interests. It appears that not everyone has gotten the message. Alberta, it turns out, is once again being vilified by a group of Ontarians as the cowboy province that can’t control its…
Newspapers are no longer very relevant politically, with a few exceptions. Sure, the Toronto Star uncovered that Mayor Rob Ford used crack. And, yes, the New York Times and the Washington Post have done exemplary work exposing the venality and the criminality of the Trump administration. But, in recent years, the roles daily newspapers played in the body politic – helping…
