Achi news desk-
NDP MP Matthew Green says Conservative MP Brendan Leslie should apologize for a video posted on Leslie’s social media accounts that mixes clips from TV news with doctored footage and out-of-context footage.
“This should be completely unacceptable,” Green said. “And there should be an ethical agreement between the parties that we will not engage in this type of misinformation and disinformation.”
Green is a member of the House of Commons Standing Committee on Ethics, Access to Information and Privacy, which is in the midst of a study into the effects of misinformation and disinformation on members of parliament. He said he would ask the committee to consider Leslie’s video as part of its deliberations.
The four-minute video is a critique, told by Leslie, of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s legacy. It imagines a day when Trudeau resigns and, to use Leslie’s phrase, “the media … swoons over him” and his legacy.
But in making this point, the video’s producers use the logo, screen layout and design of CTV and CBC newscasts with fake headlines and other text superimposed. One sequence uses what appears to be a few seconds taped from CTV News with the headline “Justin Trudeau Resigns as Prime Minister” and the subtitle “Ends Historic 10-Year Mission to Destroy Canada.” Another sequence that appears to be taped from a CBC News broadcast has a similar title.
Leslie’s video also includes a segment of CBC journalist Rosemary Barton interviewing Mark Carney with a subtitle that reads: “Mark Carney explains why foie gras is so essential to his morning routine.”
No such segment has ever aired on either CTV or CBC, and in a brief interview Thursday, Leslie said it would be clear to anyone watching the video.
“I don’t think anyone thinks I’m the guy who’s going to break the news that the prime minister has resigned,” Leslie said. “I think Canadians are very smart.”
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Fred DeLaury, who was the national Conservative campaign manager for the 2021 general election, agreed with Leslie’s assessment.
“The gist of the message was, ‘What will Trudeau’s legacy be when he leaves?’ And if you look at the video, I don’t think any reasonable person would think it’s a real news story,” Delory said. “I don’t think it crosses any line where it’s fake news or any kind of story that people would think is actually real.”
The spokesman for the leader of the conservatives Pierre Poiliber, Sebastien Skamsky, said in a written statement: “There is nothing misleading in the video and any suggestion to the contrary is very ridiculous. Any attempt to suggest that this is a controversy will be completely fabricated.”
But Green, the New Democrat, sees it differently.
“This is exactly the defense of Alex Jones (conspiracy theorist and Infowars host). This is exactly the defense of this kind of conspiratorial machine that has been brewing in the extreme right, which completely floods the region with political garbage that is very difficult for people to notice. To use that defense insults the intelligence of people watching,” Green said.
“I would call on this member of parliament to delete it and apologize and I call on all political leaders to commit today to Canadians that in the upcoming election cycle and in cycles beyond that, we will not participate in this type of manipulation. Fake news.”
Researcher Markus Kolega leads the DisinfoWatch project, which tracks disinformation campaigns, and said the techniques used by Leslie were unbecoming of a member of Canada’s parliament.
“They are pushing the boundaries here,“said a colleague. “This is the first instance of this type of content I’ve seen produced or published by a member of parliament in Canada. I’ve never seen anything like this before. Ultimately, because of their role as members of parliament, the trust they have in their constituents, which may lead to the unfortunate event where they do mislead the constituents and all viewers of this content.”
Christopher Waddell, professor emeritus at Carleton University’s School of Journalism, took issue not only with the technique, but also with the script of the entire video.
“Politicians should not distort and misrepresent the facts and the truth, and they should at least be willing to admit the facts,” Waddell said. “And this video contains no facts. So in itself, just by doing that, it’s misrepresenting issues. It’s obviously taking away from the work that journalists do and using the model and formats that journalists use to try to spread things that aren’t true.”
CBC public affairs chief Chuck Thompson declined to comment on the social media post in question, but said in a statement, “We are aware of a disturbing increase in false ads and news stories claiming to be from, or endorsed by, CBC hosts or CBC hosts. We are working to curb the trend of this concern and to remove any false or inappropriate posts from CBC platforms, as well as from other social spaces.” CTV spokeswoman Christy Sullivan said, “We are concerned about any instance where our logos and branding are used outside of our legitimate news coverage. When this happens, we take appropriate steps to address the matter, consistent with our commitment to maintaining the integrity of news in Canada.”
- With files from Sophall Duch
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