UPDATE: Following my criticism of CTV for sharing the shortened clip rather than the full context, CTV News Executive Producer Rosa Hwang deleted a Tweet and CTV’s Chief News Anchor Lisa LaFlamme shared the full video. You can read more about it here.
Previous updates
It appears the Canadian establishment press is desperate to generate further division among the Canadian People in the pursuit of further attention and profit.
The arrest of Chief Allan Adam has gone viral, with some considering it evidence of excessive use of force by police.
This comes at at time when the relationship between the police and the broader citizenry has received renewed scrutiny following the death of George Floyd in the United States, who had the life choked out of him by police officer Derek Chauvin.
However, the Canadian establishment media seems so desperate to generate attention and controversy that they are sharing a shortened version of the clip that appears deliberately calculated to create maximum anger.
Here’s what the Executive Producer of CTV National News Rosa Hwang Tweeted:
“BREAKING NEWS: Dash-cam footage obtained by CTV News shows Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation Chief Allan Adam getting tackled by Wood Buffalo RCMP officers, then punched in the head and put in a choke-hold. #cdnpoli #RCMP”
BREAKING NEWS: Dash-cam footage obtained by CTV News shows Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation Chief Allan Adam getting tackled by Wood Buffalo RCMP officers, then punched in the head and put in a choke-hold. #cdnpoli #RCMP pic.twitter.com/NKJeapPzDN
— Rosa Hwang (@journorosa) June 12, 2020
Here’s another Tweet (Hwang deleted the Tweet but a screenshot can be viewed below):
“Should clarify, Chief Allan Adam’s lawyer petitioned to get the RCMP dash-cam video released. Runs just under 12 minutes. Chief Adam was tackled without warning 4 seconds after he got out of the truck.”
Should clarify, Chief Allan Adam’s lawyer petitioned to get the RCMP dash-cam video released. Runs just under 12 minutes. Chief Adam was tackled without warning 4 seconds after he got out of the truck. #RCMP https://t.co/haVnIR7yQj
— Rosa Hwang (@journorosa) June 12, 2020
Hwang says “Chief Adam was tackled without warning 4 seconds after he got out of the truck.”
Evan Solomon also Tweeted the short clip:
This is the video footage of the brutal police take down of Chief Adam that he described to us on @CTV_PowerPlay this week. It’s horrible to see this kind of use of force. The tackle. The punch. How can this be justified? https://t.co/kRxfCLzhAZ
— Evan Solomon (@EvanLSolomon) June 12, 2020
Seems self-explanatory right?
Totally unacceptable for that to have happened right, with ‘no warning’ and just ‘4 seconds’ after getting out of the truck.
There’s just one problem.
The full 12 minute clip tells a completely different story than what Hwang and Solomon shared.
Here’s the full video:
Now, this isn’t to say there may have been excessive force used here. Many people watching the full video still feel the punch was unnecessary.
However, this is a very different conversation than that edited, shortened clip. Because, it turns out the thing that supposedly happened “4 seconds” in, actually took place about 7 Minutes in.
Why would much of the media – particularly CTV News – have pushed that clip instead of the broader context?
Why was that what they led with?
Simple.
To create rage, generate controversy, inflame division among the Canadian People, and attempt to manipulate emotions.
And why would they do this?
Because the more controversy and anger they can generate, the more stories they’ll have to cover, and the more they could profit.
Trish Nuttal on Twitter summed things up well:
“I saw this little clip and was WTF watched the whole 12 minute video and it gave a whole different perspective. This little clip to get people angry and is working especially with what happened in the US. The whole video does not fit the narrative they want”
I saw this little clip and was WTF watched the whole 12 minute video and it gave a whole different perspective. This little clip to get people angry and is working especially with what happened in the US. The whole video does not fit the narrative they want
— Trish Nuttall (@TrishNuttall) June 12, 2020
This attempt by much of the establishment press to manipulate Canadians is disgraceful and even dangerous, especially given the fact that we have already seen large protests here in Canada (a small subset of which turned into looting), and given that the combination of lockdowns and the economic collapse has millions of people already stressed and on edge.
The media is playing with fire, and our country could end up getting burned.
Spencer Fernando
Photo – YouTube
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