Social media served as an “accelerant” for the spread of impactful “misinformation and disinformation” during last winter’s protests of COVID-19 restrictions, says the report of the inquiry into the invocation of the Emergencies Act released on Feb. 17.
“I have no doubt that misinformation about COVID-19 influenced the views of some protesters and how they assessed the quality of government health measures,” wrote Commissioner Paul Rouleau.
In setting up the inquiry, the Liberal cabinet gave Rouleau a separate mandate from the one given by Parliament and required by law, asking that he examine the “impact, role and sources of misinformation and disinformation, including the use of social media.”
Rouleau had reacted to this in his opening statement before the public hearings phase of the inquiry and said his focus would remain on the federal government’s decision to invoke the act.
On that issue, Rouleau said the “very high threshold” had been met by the Trudeau government to declare a public order emergency to clear protesters in Ottawa and at a few border crossings.
The movement had been kickstarted in January 2022 by truckers protesting the vaccine mandate at the Canada-U.S. border.
Rouleau qualified making this judgment under some reservations and noted others could have come to a different conclusion.
The issues of social media, misinformation and disinformation are addressed a number of times in the hundreds of pages of the Public Order Emergency Commission report, but it’s not greatly expanded upon.
Rouleau says the phenomena undermines “the ability of government officials and members of the public to meaningful[ly] engage in discussions on policy and governance.”
“The Government did not have a realistic prospect of productively engaging with certain protesters, like those that believed COVID-19 vaccines were part of a vast global conspiracy to depopulate the planet,” Rouleau said.
Rouleau provided other examples of issues raised by convoy organizers and participants, of which he said he had “no difficulty characterizing as being based on misinformation.”
He said that Convoy organizer James Bauder’s view that the mRNA injections are gene-altering is “outright conspiratorial.”
Rouleau also pointed out that organizer Pat King said the federal government had “‘implement[ed]’ the presence of Chinese soldiers in Canada.”
There is no context provided in the report with regards to these statements.
Bauder’s gene-altering comment was made during the hearings to help him explain that he quit his job to avoid the vaccine mandate.
“I quit my employment because I’m never going to put that ever in me,” he said.
“I don’t have any problems with vaccines. I’ve travelled internationally, I got lots of vaccines … But there’s no darn way I’m going to put some gene-altering therapy into me.”
Vaccine maker Moderna, in its 2020 filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), says that “Currently, mRNA is considered a gene therapy product by the FDA [U.S. Food and Drug Administration].”
“Unlike certain gene therapies that irreversibly alter cell DNA and could act as a source of side effects, mRNA-based medicines are designed to not irreversibly change cell DNA; however, side effects observed in gene therapy could negatively impact the perception of mRNA medicines despite the differences in mechanism.”
An in-vitro study on a human liver cell line conducted by Swedish scientists and published last year discovered that “SARS-CoV-2 RNA can be reverse-transcribed and integrated into the genome of human cells.”
“These findings were observed in petri dishes under experimental conditions, but we do not yet know if the converted DNA is integrated into the cells’ DNA in the genome – and if so, if it has any consequences,” said co-author Dr. Magnus Rasmussen in a follow-up interview published on Sweden’s Lund University website.
During his testimony before the commission, Pat King said he had been “chasing” and “exposing” the government on its “overreach.”
It’s in this context he mentioned the “implementation of Chinese soldiers on Canadian soil,” but he did not elaborate further.
The Department of National Defence (DND) had cancelled the visit of Chinese soldiers to observe winter survival training five years ago over concerns raised by the U.S. government, according to official documents.
Global Affairs Canada (GAC) had pushed back against the cancellation, fearing retaliation from Beijing.
The documents obtained under the Access to Information regime by Rebel News showed other planned engagement with China’s military, including its members attending a security studies program and teaching peacekeeping courses in Canada.
Rouleau also said his inquiry had been targeted by misinformation and disinformation, with “allegations that this Commission was secretly controlled by Federal Minister of Emergency Preparedness Bill Blair — apparently because he also holds the title of ‘President of the King’s Privy Council for Canada.’”
While mostly addressing the phenomena from the standpoint of protesters, Rouleau also remarked how it cut both ways.
“I am also satisfied that there was misinformation about the Freedom Convoy, which was used as a basis to unfairly discredit all protesters,” Rouleau said.
He noted the example in which protesters were blamed for setting fire to an apartment building. Police said protesters were not involved, but the claim was repeated by politicians.
“Where there was misinformation and disinformation about the protests, it was prone to amplification in news media,” Rouleau added.
He highlighted the testimony of Superintendent Pat Morris from the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) intelligence bureau, which said some news reports were not based in reality.
“I was concerned by comments made publicly by public figures and in the media that I believed were not premised in fact,” Morris said on Oct. 19.
Among false claims made by media, the CBC suggested the Freedom Convoy was a Kremlin-sponsored operation and the Toronto Star reported that loaded firearms had been found among the truckers during the police clearing operation.