Now that John and Tarek are flying homeward, its worth paying attention to the G&M and the CBCs inability to administrate hate-mongering comments in their on-line editions. The CBC in particular. Heres a great letter to John Baird from Jan Pottie and Tom Sherman. October 2, 2013 The Honourable John Baird, Minister of Foreign Affairs Dear Minister, Minister Baird thank you for everything you are doing on behalf Dr. Tarek Loubani and Professor John Greyson. Please know that you have our continued respect and support and can call on us for anything. We are writing to draw your attention to the extent of unfounded and damaging comments concerning Dr. Loubani and Professor Greyson published on the website of our public broadcaster, CBC.ca. We are writing because the CBC comment section has been privatized and these comments are individually selected by a private company, Viafoura, which for inexplicable reasons is running a smear campaign against Dr.Loubani and Professor Greyson. A smear campaign that is hurtful and terrifying for the families and friends of these men. And in addition, because CBC is Canadas public broadcaster and therefore Canadas public face, this is a smear campaign that may undermine your diplomatic efforts to have these men released. For example the announcement on Sept.30 that Canadians in Egypt to be jailed for extra 45 Days has drawn 866 comments and counting. In the past comments would have been closed and speculative defamatory accusations curtailed. However under Viafouras control of our public airwaves website, the most popular comment by ManiaAck reads: -Apparently John and Tarek arent comprehending that there are a number of people who dont believe their story - especially seeing as they have made a number of changes to their story over the last few days in regards to a number of critical points. -I sure would like to know where I could get more information...Ive been thinking they likely deserve what they are getting. -Woo hoo.Go Egypt! Hope they never come back. The majority of 866 comments are similar. We want to again stress that these comments are not random but are curated, they are specifically selected for a reason. See for yourself cbc.ca/news/world/canadians-in-egypt-to-be-jailed-for-extra-45-days-1.1872489 Many people have been profoundly confused by the culture of suspicion and hatred represented by these comments. That the comments may be selected for this purpose by Viafoura, a private company, is something that should alarm us all. We encourage you to make other officials aware that these comments are manipulated, do not represent public opinion and that they may work against efforts of the department of Foreign Affairs to keep these men safe from harm. I dont know why we have allowed this. I do know that we should be wary of a private company that appears to have a specific agenda and is hammering decent Canadians with hateful propaganda written by anonymous commenters. We know that you will understand how hurtful and confusing it is for families and supporters of Dr.Loubani and Professor Greyson to face these comments that advocate harm on the website of CBC, our public broadcaster, at a time when they are justifiably sick with worry. We are writing to make you aware that this hateful propaganda, selected by a private company for publication on the website of our public broadcaster CBC.ca, may not be innocent, that it misrepresents Canada and therefore may undermine diplomacy. Again, Minister Baird we want you to know that we are grateful for all you are doing to bring Dr. Loubani and Professor Greyson home safely, that you have our continued support and can call on us for anything. Sincerely, Jan Pottie Tom Sherman
Posted on: Fri, 11 Oct 2013 12:07:23 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015