Media
Indigenous news website Real People’s Media plays dual role in blockade near Belleville – The Globe and Mail
The rail blockade near Belleville, Ont., was coming to a head. More than a dozen provincial police stood opposite a smaller group of protesters, both sides visibly tense, and a camera was rolling.
“You’re on sovereign territory … every single one of you,” one of the demonstrators yelled, a bandana over his face. Another gave a high-pitched whoop.
When the officers moved forward, they grabbed hold of protesters and scuffled with those who resisted.
“Okay,” the man filming said. “We’ve got one, two, three, four, five, six arrests.”
The footage of the first physical confrontation between police and the mostly Mohawk activists who had ground the country’s rail traffic to a stop was posted to social media on Monday. It did not come from a traditional journalistic outlet, but from Real People’s Media, a little-known website dedicated to promoting Indigenous “political agendas,” which has provided the most detailed information about the status of the protests for nearly three weeks.
The site’s suddenly elevated profile and sharp, activist tone has raised questions about its leadership and goals.
“What they’re trying to do is push back against the bias that is clearly expressed by elected officials and the media,” said John Kane, a Mohawk radio host whose program, Let’s Talk Native, is featured on the site. “[They’re] really trying to give a more unvarnished view of reality. But from our perspective.”
Since the Feb. 6 launch of the blockade, Real People’s Media has had remarkably intimate access to the Mohawk encampment and leadership. The site published a transcript of the Feb. 15 meeting between Indigenous Services Minister Marc Miller and Mohawk clan leaders that marked the first negotiations between protesters and the government – but which was closed to journalists.
It posted a wish list of supplies requested by residents of the encampment, including marine two-way radios, a police scanner and hand warmers.
The close relationship between the protesters and Real People’s Media revolves around Seth LeFort, who is both a prominent member of the protest and the website’s co-founder. A Mohawk from Tyendinaga, the community adjacent to the rail blockade, he also goes by the Mohawk name Kanenhariyo.
Mr. LeFort registered the site as a business with the Ontario government last year, and contributors say he continues to operate it, along with an activist named Tom Keefer. Neither responded to requests for an interview.
A statement on the website describes Real People’s Media as a “multimedia news and information network that expresses the interests, experiences, and viewpoints” of Indigenous people who act “in a manner consistent with the Kayanere’kowa,” or Great Law of Peace.
Mr. Kane, the radio host, says he has known Mr. LeFort since he was a teen, and that the young man showed promise early as an advocate for traditional culture.
“Seth became an activist at a fairly early age,” Mr. Kane said. “He was very good with the language. We saw him as one of these young guys who we felt very hopeful for.”
It appears that Real People’s Media was launched in late 2015, when its Facebook page became active. Since then it has expanded to include podcasts, long essays and some coverage of Indigenous business, and developed a following among Indigenous activists and intellectuals. Lynn Gehl, an Algonquin Anishinaabe author from the Ottawa River Valley who has written for Real People’s Media, said Mr. LeFort’s knowledge of Indigenous culture made him a valuable voice.
“Seth is providing an Indigenous perspective … not a colonial perspective,” she said. “It’s important that we have our own media out there.”
Andrew Brant, a Mohawk from Tyendinaga who has participated in the railway demonstration, said Mr. LeFort’s site has gained the trust of some Indigenous readers who don’t trust the mainstream media to tell their stories accurately.
“It’s become more popular because people trust it to tell the truth,” he said.
In recent weeks, Mr. LeFort has assumed a leadership role in the Tyendinaga protests, as well as the outlet that has chronicled them most vividly. He was one of the first demonstrators to interact with police and acted as a spokesperson for the blockade early on, according to Ontario Provincial Police documents filed in court in support of CN Railway’s application for an injunction to dismantle the blockade. “Seth was very curt and sharpe [sic],” the officers wrote about one interaction on Feb. 10. “Very clear no trains will be going through.”
That has created an unusual dynamic: Mr. LeFort has been featured prominently in the site’s coverage of the protest, often discussing tactics or giving speeches, with no indication that he operates the site.
In a video posted on Sunday, he addresses a group near the train tracks, and says that because of an OPP ultimatum, the gathering must decide whether to leave or stay and face arrest.
“We so often have been convinced and coerced into believing we have to listen to someone,” Mr. LeFort said. “But we’re free people and we’ve been this way for thousands of years. And free people make informed decisions about what they’re gonna do.”
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Media
CTV National News: Social media giants sued – CTV News
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CTV National News: Social media giants sued CTV News
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Media
India’s media – captured and censored
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Across almost every form of media in India – social, broadcast and print – Narendra Modi and the BJP hold sway.
With India amid a national election campaign, its news media is in sharp focus. Until recently it was believed that the sheer diversity of outlets ensured a range of perspectives, but now, India’s mainstream media has largely been co-opted by the Bharatiya Janata Party and Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Just how did the media in India get to this point and what does it mean for the upcoming elections?
Featuring:
Ravish Kumar – Former Host, NDTV
Shashi Shekhar Vempati – Former CEO, Prasar Bharati
Pramod Raman – Chief Editor, MediaOne
Amy Kazmin – Former South Asia Bureau Chief, Financial Times
Meena Kotwal – Founder, The Mooknayak
Media
Social media lawsuit launched by Ontario school boards
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Premier Doug Ford says that lawsuits launched by four Ontario school boards against multiple social media platforms are “nonsense” and risk becoming a distraction to the work that really matters.
The school boards, including three in the Greater Toronto Area, have launched lawsuits seeking $4.5 billion in damages against Snapchat, TikTok, and Meta, the owner of both Facebook and Instagram, for creating products that they allege negligently interfere with student learning and have caused “widespread disruption to the education system.”
But at an unrelated news conference in Ottawa on Friday, Ford said that he “disagrees” with the legal action and worries it could take the focus away from “the core values of education.”
“Let’s focus on math, reading and writing. That is what we need to do, put all the resources into the kids,” he said. “What are they spending lawyers fees to go after these massive companies that have endless cash to fight this? Let’s focus on the kids, not this other nonsense that they are looking to fight in court.”
Four separate but similar statements of claim were filed in Ontario’s Superior Court of JusticSocial media lawsuit launched by Ontario school boards pervasive problems such as distraction, social withdrawal, cyberbullying, a rapid escalation of aggression, and mental health challenges,” Colleen Russell-Rawlins, the director of education with the Toronto District School Board, said in a news release issued Thursday.
“It is imperative that we take steps to ensure the well-being of our youth. We are calling for measures to be implemented to mitigate these harms and prioritize the mental health and academic success of our future generation.”
The school boards are represented by Toronto-based law firm Neinstein LLP and the news release states that school boards “will not be responsible for any costs related to the lawsuit unless a successful outcome is reached.”
These lawsuits come as hundreds of school districts in the United States file similar suits.
“A strong education system is the foundation of our society and our community. Social media products and the changes in behaviour, judgement and attention that they cause pose a threat to that system and to the student population our schools serve,” Duncan Embury, the head of litigation at Neinstein LLP, said in the new release.
“We are proud to support our schools and students in this litigation with the goal of holding social media giants accountable and creating meaningful change.”
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