After True North first published a news report about Liberal deputy prime minister Chrystia Freeland holding a neo-Nazi scarf, legacy media outlets have rushed to defend the Trudeau cabinet minister.
These outlets have published several articles attempting to whitewash the incident despite Freeland’s own office deleting the tweet showing her holding the red and black banner.
Although the colours and its slogan are well known to be associated with the Nazi-sympathizer Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists movement begun by Stepan Bandera, a trove of cherry-picked experts and commentators are running defence for the minister.
True North has graded the legacy media’s coverage of the controversy. Rankings were based on how much the outlets spun their coverage in favour of the Liberal minister.
National Post – F
By far, the National Post’s coverage has been the most bizarre, if not one-sided. All of the sources and experts cited in the article – which attempts to brush off the incident as “Russian disinformation” – are completely in Freeland’s favour.
The piece begins by saying outright that the symbol “may not be as far-right” as critics claim, and leads with a baseless quote from Freeland’s own office calling it “disinformation.”
At one point, the article even cites an expert who defends the “blood and soil” colouration of the scarf, even though black and red is heavily used by neo-Nazis including those who attended the white nationalist Charlottesville rally.
In fact, all four sources cited by the piece support Freeland’s claim that the story was disinformation, without a single expert disputing or arguing against it.
Based on these facts, True North gives the National Post an “F” for extreme Liberal spin.
CBC – D
As expected, the CBC’s reporting on the Freeland controversy is skewed in favour of the Liberal minister.
The piece begins by pointing out how the red and black neo-Nazi colours at the rally in Toronto were vastly outnumbered by Ukrainian flags, “by a ratio of about 20 to one.” Unsurprisingly, the CBC did not make similar allowances when covering the Ottawa freedom convoy. Instead, their coverage continuously emphasized reports of Confederate and swastika flags even though protesters overwhelmingly carried Canada flags.
The article also only relies on a single source, and without providing varying opinions. Unlike other academics who have admitted that the red and black symbolism means “blood and soil,” the expert handpicked by the CBC claims it represents “love and sorrow.”
Because there is no contrary expert opinion, and because the CBC attempted to downplay the controversy, True North gives the CBC a “D” grade for heavy Liberal spin.
iPolitics – C
The outlet iPolitics was one of the first to directly credit True North for reporting Freeland’s scarf controversy. Overall, the article is generally balanced.
On the positive side of things, it specifically makes reference to Freeland’s double standard, which saw her generalize Ottawa convoy protesters as Nazis because of one swastika flag.
However – and to iPolitics’s discredit – the outlet’s editors quickly swooped in to whitewash the story soon after its publication, and apparently without the knowledge of the article’s writer. The article now no longer includes the term “neo-Nazis,” and admits the revision.
The journalist who wrote that piece has since left the outlet.
Due to the editor’s decision to tweak the article to cast Freeland in a more positive light, True North gives iPolitics a “C” for moderate Liberal spin.
Toronto Star – B
In a lengthy piece citing numerous experts, the Toronto Star covered the Freeland controversy in what we would call a neutral light.
To the outlet’s credit, the article reached out to academics with varying opinions on the matter to give a nuanced take. Two experts cited in the piece thoroughly explain how the scarf’s symbolism is tied to the radical far-right, while another two experts dismiss the idea as Russian disinformation.
The Toronto Star piece also delves into some of unsavoury details of Freeland’s past, including the fact that her grandfather worked for a pro-Nazi newspaper during the Second World War, as well as the historical connotations associated with the scarf’s slogan and its colours.
The main thing detracting from the piece’s quality is that it makes no mention of Freeland accusing her opponents – including most recently the Ottawa freedom convoy – of being extremists or far-right.
Because the Toronto Star appears more or less objective and provides varying opinions, True North gives the article a “B” for having very little spin.
Canadian Press – A
The Canadian Press wrote a highly detailed and informative piece on the scarf’s symbolism and historical associations.
Throughout the article, the author cites multiple sources and provides context from Freeland’s family past.
After citing True North for breaking the story, the piece also mentions how Freeland hypocritically accused the trucker convoy protesters of being far-right extremists over one neo-Nazi flag.
Due to the article’s lengthy explanation and context, True North gives the Canadian Press an “A” for having no spin.
