November 24, 2024

The Queens County Citizen

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5,000 455,000 | Assistance from Ottawa for a newspaper that likes sanctioned conspiracy theories

5,000 455,000 |  Assistance from Ottawa for a newspaper that likes sanctioned conspiracy theories

The Canadian Heritage Department gave the newspaper a grant of 5,000 455,000 last March The Epoch Times, In the opinion of many experts, has been promoting conspiracy theories for many years and has become a platform for right-wing movements.


Joel-Denis BellavensJoel-Denis Bellavens
Tap

The newspaper, with editions in 36 countries and 22 languages, received financial support from Ottawa on the 1st through the Canada Periodical Fund.Is April 2020, the Federal Government website revealed. The grant, which was awarded under a special section in support of the media affected by the epidemic crisis, expires on March 31.

The newspaper owner, The Epoch Times Media, received a second financial incentive from Ottawa through the Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy, according to the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) website. But it is impossible to know the extent of this financial assistance, the CRA did not disclose that amount.

In the USA, The Epoch Times Former U.S. Donald Trump has publicly supported the president during his tenure, Mr. Trump, a former close aide Stephen K. Bannan also received praise from, the growing influence of the newspaper that he had the right to appeal.

Founded in 2000 in the United States by Chinese Americans affiliated with the spiritual movement Falun Gong (or Falun Dafa), the newspaper has been a vocal critic of the Chinese Communist Party since its inception. Among other things, he accused her of torturing members of the spiritual movement in China.

Last October, The New York Times The newspaper published a lengthy report on the direction of the spygate’s promoter of the unsubstantiated conspiracy theory that officials in the Obama administration unlawfully conspired against Mr. Trump in 2016.

The Epoch Times It also aired other QAnon conspiracy theories on voter fraud and the Black Lives Matter movement. At the time of the epidemic, inspired by the Communist Party of China, the newspaper focused on the unsubstantiated theory that the coronavirus was engineered in a Chinese military laboratory.

The reputation of this newspaper has declined slightly over the past few months, over the past year. The turn of his conspiracy was evident in 2020. If we look at this newspaper today, it’s a meaningless grant.

Jean-Hughes Roy, Professor of Media School (UQAM) at the University of Quebec in Montreal

For him, this publication is no doubt a vehicle charm for misinformation.

Tap Seeks comments from Cindy Gu, editor and president of Canadian Editions Epoch Times, But she did not respond to our call.

It is not up to the government to decide what Canadians read

Canadian Heritage Minister Steven Gilmbolt said, “The undeniable value of past publications Epoch Times Partisanship and reproduction templates against Asian communities, especially on the Internet. I strongly condemn. The pandemic has exacerbated the impact of racism and hatred online on racist groups. We are currently working on a bill to target hate speech on online platforms. ”

However he acknowledged that their role as a minister was not one of determining “news content and opinions for Canadians”. Working upstream to prevent our role as a government, to raise awareness and to raise awareness about misinformation ”.

Freedom of the press is “absolutely essential for the proper functioning of our democracy and must be protected regardless of the circumstances,” he stressed.

Conservative MP Alain Reyes said the community was outraged at the newspaper for helping out when newspapers were closing their doors.

How can a Canadian heritage minister justify giving 5,000 to 455,000 to such a controversial newspaper? I do not question the existence of the newspaper, but it is not entirely acceptable that the federal government would pay for it when our community media dies.

Alain Reyes, Conservative MP

New Democratic Party Deputy Leader Alexander Bouleris invited Minister Gilbolt to rectify his situation.

“When our news media is dying – HuffPost Canada and Quebec have just closed their doors – liberals like to support organizations that are sympathetic to the right-right movements that propagate lies and fuel the skepticism that surrounds us about our news media,” she responded.

“This is absurd and it is clear evidence of abuse. These sums will help keep our newsrooms alive, which are essential for the proper functioning of our democracy.”

Recently, The Epoch Times Many citizens made headlines across the country after expressing surprise or anger at receiving a free copy of the newspaper in their mailbox.

Fearing public outcry, the Postal Workers Union has asked Anita Anand, Minister of Public Services, Canada Post, to stop distributing the newspaper through letter carriers.

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