Roundup: Image, data-mining, and conspiracy theories

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Everyone wanted to talk about Pierre Poilievre this weekend—about his quest to “soften” his image, particularly for women voters, which is why he has plenty of new ads featuring his wife and children; the way in which he’s data-mining and populating his voter identification database using online petitions on sites that he personally owns (and therefore all of the data as well); and the fact that he continues to mainstream certain conspiracy theories (which is a problem for a democracy).

This last one had the Conservatives outraged over the weekend, railing that the piece could not be “professional journalism” because one of the sources had previously donated to the Liberal Party (which is a bullshit purity test and any Conservative talking head who brings it up should be told to where exactly to stick that test), while Poilievre himself tried to call this a hit job and tried to somehow insinuate that The Canadian Press, the national wire service, is somehow an arm of the CBC (again, creating a straw man and a dangerous attack on CP’s integrity when it’s so neutral that it’s biggest problem is that it egregiously both-sides things that should not be). But this pushback is because it hits a nerve—Poilievre and his talking heads know that paying lip service to these conspiracy theories undermines democratic processes, corrodes fact-based reality and drives social divisions, but that’s exactly why they want to use them—to attract a particular voter base who often doesn’t vote, and they think they can cash in on this polarization.

It goes back to what I’ve been writing about before—that they have this mistaken belief that there is some kind of “good parts only” version of right-wing populism that they can get all of the good things (fundraising, volunteers, energy, votes) from without the bad parts (racism, misogyny, homophobia/transphobia, white supremacy, fascism), but it doesn’t work like that. They need to stop deluding themselves because they have poured kerosene all over the floor and are now playing with matches. There is no future in which this can end well.

Ukraine Dispatch:

Seven people including a baby were killed during Russian shelling of Kherson in the south. There was also another attack on Russia’s Crimean bridge over the weekend, and Russia is again vowing revenge for it (as though they are the victims). The Ukrainian military is making some unspecified claims about progress reclaiming territory in the south of the country. Meanwhile, a Russian warship fired warning shots at a cargo ship on the Black Sea in violation of international law.

Good reads:

  • Here is an exploration of some of the problems identified around housing.
  • Conservative MP John Barlow is accusing the federal government of not being responsive enough to Alberta’s severe drought situation.
  • My weekend column delves into the problems around that story on judicial appointments and why we need to resist making this a purity test.

Odds and ends:

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One thought on “Roundup: Image, data-mining, and conspiracy theories”

  1. The only future in which this “ends well” (or with as minimal damage in the process) is a future where Poilievre and his band of cynics and crackpots are soundly rejected at the ballot box in the next election. I do fear for Canada that there are a number of people buying into his BS. The Liberals need to be quicker, sharper, and utterly relentless in countering his lies, because the corporate MSM (whose insulated billionaire owners are willing to turn a blind eye to proto-fascism if it means ratings and tax cuts) sure won’t do it. The West appears to be entering the twilight of its second Weimar period, and what lies around the corner is not good at all…

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