Journalists Who Think the Wrecking Ball Was Real
Toronto Star and Globe & Mail reporters spread this fake news.
Part 1: The Phantom Wrecking Ball Part 2: Journalists Who Think the Wrecking Ball Was Real Part 3: Wrecking Ball, Part 3
When Jody Thomas, the Prime Minister’s National Security Advisor, mistakenly told an Emergencies Act hearing last month that Freedom Convoy protesters had brought a wrecking ball to Ottawa, journalist Tonda MacCharles didn’t miss a beat. Applying not an ounce of skepticism to this government official, she amplified this mistake on Twitter.
Stationed in Ottawa, that Toronto Star parliamentary reporter should have known the wrecking ball was fake news. I mean, she lives in that city. The stage truck with the Canadian flag flying from its crane was stationary from January 29th until February 19 - the day the police violently shut down the protest.
There never was a wrecking ball - just a small sphere on the end of a crane to keep the cable taut.
Back in February, Globe and Mail reporter Marieke Walsh similarly told the world a wrecking ball was in alarmingly close proximity to the Prime Minister’s office. She even included a photograph:
Ms. Walsh appears to have since deleted this tweet. A Twitter search reveals no sign of it, no apology, no correction, and no explanation.
It’s worth noting that the date of her tweet - February 4th - contradicts National Security Advisor Jody Thomas’ contention that a wrecking ball appeared late in the protest and was therefore evidence of increasing protester aggression (see my post from yesterday). February 4th was still the first week.
The phantom wrecking ball is emblamatic of how the ruling class responded to the Freedom Convoy. Government officials. Government-funded journalists. Both are firmly convinced the wrecking ball was real. They insist it’s true. They really believe it. They think critics of government COVID policy (fellow Canadians) are dangerous, menacing, and extremist.
We’re living in a parallel universe, folks. Even if every last protester in Ottawa had been a sanctified saint, they would still have been smeared and disparaged.
Part 1: The Phantom Wrecking Ball Part 2: Journalists Who Think the Wrecking Ball Was Real Part 3: Wrecking Ball, Part 3
Might have to send this post to the journalists you named
Too true. And although we are told to move on and let bygones be bygones, the lies continue.