American media personalities jumped on the bandwagon story. Here’s what it could mean for Canada

There are times when Canadians can get more than a little excited about an event in this country that is making waves south of the border.

But what if that story helps fuel an American media narrative aimed at sowing fear and setbacks against US President Joe Biden?

Enter the “Freedom Rally” convoy en route to Ottawa this week.

The convoy received significant airtime all week from U.S. right-wing outlets and major U.S. political commentators on social media.

It started last weekend as a protest against a new COVID-19 policy for truck drivers. As of January 15, the federal government has required Canadian truck drivers to be fully vaccinated if they want to avoid a 14-day quarantine when crossing the United States border.

The convoy is criticized for being incoherent, having ties to the far right, making calls to dissolve the federal government and making court for some who threaten violence.

Some American media experts say the story fits a perfect shape for an audience in the United States that has been running an anti-vaccine narrative for months through outlets like Fox News that want to make Biden look bad and in turn Donald Trump look good.

In short: vaccines, restrictions and Biden – bad. Trump and “freedom” – well.

In Canada, meanwhile, some journalism experts say all international attention could fuel the movement behind the convoy, which some have seen as anti-science and potentially dangerous.

Fox News’ website Sean Hannity blew up a story this week with the headline “TRUCK YEAH: Canada Forms Freedom Convoy of 10K Trucks to Protest Vax Mandates, ‘Overreach is Over.’

The convoy, according to official measurements, is a fraction of those 10,000 trucks that drove around online (some even suggested the number was as high as 50,000). Officials in Ottawa – where the protesters began arriving on Friday – tied it up as between 1,000 and 2,000 vehicles.

Police in Kingston, Ont., Said Friday that the convoy that left that city left 17 full tractor trailers, 104 tractor without trailers, 424 passenger vehicles and six RVs. Another large convoy is expected to arrive from western Canada by Saturday.

U.S. podcaster Joe Rogan commented on the convoy, saying Canada is a “country in revolt” on a recent program. Elon Musk, the richest man in the world, declared on Twitter that “Canadian truck drivers rule”. Right-wing commentator Ben Shapiro posted articles on his Facebook page about the convoy all week.

“Canadian truck drivers are rightly demonstrating against authoritarian vaccine mandates,” Shapiro said Tuesday.

English comedian and social commentator Russell Brand released a video on Thursday condemning the media for ignoring the story – even though it has been one of the top stories for most outlets in Canada for days.

“Truck drivers, formerly considered heroes when delivering vital goods and working during confinement, are now villains for protesting against vaccine mandates,” he said in a YouTube video.

Fox News “is going to pick it up, of course,” said Jane Hall, a professor at the University of America’s communications department who has been a contributor to the channel for years but has criticized it since leaving about nine years ago. The story is visual, it’s dramatic and it feeds a story about how vaccine rules are a government violation of personal freedom, she said.

“The attention will attract more people and the coverage will get more attention,” Hall said. “How widespread this opposition is, and how representative this group is, will most likely get lost in the drama.”

(While truck drivers are not a monolithic group, the Canadian Trucking Alliance condemned the protest, emphasizing that nearly 90 percent of Canadian truck drivers have already been vaccinated. Yet the group says about 16,000 could be set aside because of the vaccine mandate. Here and the corresponding one for truck drivers in the United States.)

The attention could also lead to more cash for the convoy, which raised $ 7.5 million through a GoFundMe page from Friday night and saw thousands of supporters along the roads across the country this week as the craft passed.

For Sean Holman, a professor of journalism at the University of Victoria, the coverage and reinforcement means more “acceleration” for Canadians who are resisting public health measures.

“The more coverage this convoy gets, the more it normalizes those views and the more other people with those views will feel comfortable speaking out,” he said.

“This kind is the story of the social media and post-truth era.”

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