CBC’s ombudsman criticizes their journalists for smearing conservatives as 'far-right conspiracy theorists'

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Did you know the CBC's ombudsman told the company's journalists that it should consider how it labels critics of Justin Trudeau's government as extremists or conspiracy theorists? 

Blacklock's Reporter recently had a story about this, where they reported that Ombudsman Jack Nagler said the state broadcaster should reconsider its use of the term "far right" for critics.

Here's a part of that story from Blacklock's:

The Ombudsman’s comments followed complaints over an August 25, 2022 story by CBC Montréal reporter Jonathan Montpetit, The online article was headlined, “Canada’s Convoy Movement Waved The Dutch Flag, Then Conspiracy Theories Swirled About Fertilizer And Bugs.” It purported to document “deliberate attempts to sow confusion about government policies” by “far right media” and “conservative politicians.”

The article named Conservative MP Cheryl Gallant (Renfrew-Nipissing, Ont.), Alberta Transport Minister Devin Dreeshen, the Toronto Sun, the Western Standard, Rebel News Network, Farmers Forum and the website Counter Signal.

None were asked for comment. “Didn’t CBC have an obligation to go interview people who support the convoy?” wrote Ombudsman Nagler.

Now, CBC was named as a fact checker during the 2021 election. That granted the network the power to censor its competition, to censor Trudeau's critics. Don't take my word for it, listen to what Facebook Canada said about it:

“When a fact checker rates a piece of content as false we significantly reduce its distribution so that fewer people can see it,” Facebook wrote in its 2021 Canadian Election Integrity Initiative. “We notify people who try to share the content or previously shared it that the information is false and we apply a warning label that links to the fact checkers’ article disproving the claim.”

Back in 2019, Catherine Tait, CEO of the CBC, described the network as a “beacon of truth.” Doesn't that remind you of what New Zealand's former prime minister, Jacinda Ardern, said. That the government is your source for truth.

New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern:

"We will continue to be your single source of truth… Unless you hear it from us it is not the truth."https://t.co/WV7ZfdP2RR

— Daily Wire (@realDailyWire) July 25, 2022

Here’s the story the Ombudsman was criticizing. The story has not been corrected or taken down. “Canada's convoy movement waved the Dutch flag. Then conspiracy theories swirled about fertilizer and bugs” was the title. Then there was a little blurb about “Far-right media, conservative politicians stoking misinformation about an early plan to cut emissions.”

“Far right” — have they ever called anyone “far left”? And who is to say we’re far right? What does that mean? Civil liberties; privacy; peace.

Here's a passage from that story:

Soon after, far-right media outlets in Canada seized on the Dutch protests to promote conspiracy theories that reinforced anti-government ideologies. Many of these sites had already been sowing misinformation about food-supply issues.

The Western Standard, a conservative publication based in Calgary, amplified in early July a conspiracy theory that claimed fires were being deliberately set at farms around the world to make populations more dependent on governments.

The column, which was shared more than 450 times on Facebook to accounts totalling 136,000 followers, suggested that global plot was the real reason behind Ottawa's decision to help fund a cricket-processing plant in London, Ont., even though the facility mostly produces pet food.

So there’s no fact-checking — it’s just opinion. But what is the Western Standard? Far right or conservative? Let's keep looking at this story.

In the days that followed, Canada's far-right media pushed more disinformation to their readers.

Rebel News, for instance, claimed the Dutch government had "pandered to the radical demands of the World Economic Forum," echoing a popular conspiracy theory that maintains the Swiss think-tank is secretly forcing governments around the world to adopt left-wing policies.

Another far-right publication, The Counter Signal, recirculated the comments of a former far-right Dutch politician, who falsely claimed the goal of the Dutch climate plan was to confiscate the farmers' land and then give it to immigrants.

But we have never echoed or repeated or agreed with that weird claim that the WEF is “secretly forcing” anything.

We said the Dutch were pandering to them, not being forced by them. That’s called a strawman argument — we did not say a conspiracy theory, so they said we “echoed” one, which is not true, echoing means repeating; they just put in what they wanted us to say to rebut us, but we didn’t say it.

Oh — and Mark Rutte, the Dutch prime minister, is a member of the World Economic Forum. And of course, don't forget what the WEF chairman, Klaus Schwab himself said. 

The idea that the CBC would fact-check anyone is a laugh. They'll call Proud Boys terrorists, but they call Hamas “militants” at worst.

GUEST: Rebel reporter Avi Yemini joins us for another update from Israel, where he's on the ground reporting on the Israel-Hamas war. Make sure to follow along with all of his coverage at TheTruthAboutTheWar.com.