Category: Media Appearances

The self-proclaimed Queen of Canada, Romana Didulo and her followers have leapt from the online world of social media, to the streets of Peterborough, Ontario. A small number of her followers initially gathered outside the police station in the small city, on a mission to conduct citizen arrests for espionage, treason, and genocide. They believe that institutions such as health care, police, military, politicians, and academics have created a genocide with vaccines against COVID19. Three of her followers were arrested. Further citizen arrests of police officers have been held in other cities across Canada, but what does this all mean?

Are podcasts a conduit to the spreading of mis or disinformation? Podcasts are not as moderated as social media platforms, and many ideas can be spread under the radar. We saw this with my conference presentation on Seeping Hate, while individuals are deplatformed, their podcasts are often not. This allows the messages and ideologies to be spread, which are far more powerful than the individual’s social media account.

As media tries to understand and inform others about the potential consequences of self described “Queen of Canada” Romana Didulo’s followers attempting citizen arrests on her behalf, the conversations need to be nuanced. While scholars and experts in the field of conspiracy and extremism recognize the movement from online to offline engagement, the analysis must also be truthful and not spurring on fears. The analysis provided should come from experts in the field who understand social movements and extremism. To forward a rhetoric of comparisons to militias and violence simply raises fears in the general public.

Tomorrow, August 13th, followers of Romana Didulo will gather in a park in Peterborough, Ontario to conduct citizen arrests on the police in the city. The command to begin the “day of arrests” on behest of the Queen, was made to stop “the tyranny, espionage, and genocide.” These references are made in response to conspiratorial beliefs anchored in QAnon, anti-Vax, and a belief in the power of the self described Queen. While I do not believe there will be a strong attendance, I am very interested in the response by the police force, and hopefully will be there in attendance. Perhaps there will be more to come.

Canada Day is this coming weekend, and while many are planning parties and BBQ’s the “freedom convoys” are threatening once again to occupy our nation’s capital. As many celebrate the nation, we are also grappling with what it means to be Canadian, and after shocking images of our flag throughout the protests what does our flag mean to us now. Are we as a nation shell shocked, or apprehensive when we see our flag, or is this a time we stop allowing the protesters to define us, and let us come to terms with our history with residential schools. A conversation that needs to be had.

This week Abacus Polling released their findings on Canadian belief in conspiracy theories such as the Great Replacement and the Great Reset. Discussing these theories and the greater implications to society with Matt Galloway on CBC The Current, myself and other experts grappled with the idea of growing beliefs in conspiracy and how we as a global society need to understand and address these issues.

As the January 6th hearings are being broadcast Canadians too are watching. The role of conspiracy theories and extremism in the events of January 6th are similar to the events on our own nation’s capital and border crossings with the so called Freedom Convoys. Conspiracy theories and extremism on the internet are not bound by borders and as populism, anger, and fear rise we too in Canada can feel the impact of these movements. For decades those who were conspiracists, extremists, and on the margins of society were dismissed and mocked we are all now feeling the implications of our dismissals.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland have been accused by conspiracists as being “puppets” for Klaus Schwab, and the World Economic Forum to bring forward the “Great Reset.” The conspiracy is based on a short video created by the WEF in 2016, where economists were asked what they envisioned for the future. Once the pandemic and lockdowns began, both Prince Charles and Trudeau spoke the words “The Great Reset” and the conspiracy began to take take hold. The Great Reset was a platform topic for the People’s Party of Canada during the federal election, and now is an aspect of Conservative Party’s leadership campaign. Recently calls for believers to contact the Canadian Ethics Committee to investigate Trudeau and Freeland for their connection to the WEF flooded the offices with complaints.

This morning I presented my research to the public safety and national security committee at the House of Commons. The rise of conspiracy theories and their links to right wing extremism is a topic that needs to be addressed. Conspiracy serves as a conduit to spread ideologies, build socio-political movements, and can provide the fears needed that can lead to violence.

The oft-spoken adage that freedom of the media is only free to those who own the media has been repeated for the last few days, given the purchase of Twitter by Elon Musk. Much speculation and doomsday prophecies for the social media platform have been espoused, and granted this is a precarious situation within the “town square” of Twitter, we truly need to step back from our emotions and engage in a wider, more logical perspective. This takeover is much more than a perceived silencing of the press, a silencing of the public sphere, or an anvil pressing deep into the cleavage between left and right, it is also a business acquisition. The capitalistic nature of this movement is spotlighted with each “I’m leaving Twitter” or “I’m back!” tweet. Keyboard warriors are simply fodder for publicity and finances of the takeover.