Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) is probably the last person Americans think would stand up against the liberal media’s coverage of the Canadian trucker convoy.
Needless to say, social media was shocked to see Omar quote tweet Ottawa Citizen editor Alison Mah, who posted an article written by her colleague which explained how a private citizen donated $250 to the convoy and was forced to briefly shut down her cafe after showing up on a leaked donor list, Fox News reported.
“I fail to see why any journalist felt the need to report on a shop owner making such a insignificant donation rather than to get them harassed. It’s unconscionable and journalists need to do better,” Omar said.
I fail to see why any journalist felt the need to report on a shop owner making such a insignificant donation rather than to get them harassed. It’s unconscionable and journalists need to do better. https://t.co/oF7WIoS1jp
— Ilhan Omar (@IlhanMN) February 16, 2022
Mah has since made her account private due to the outpouring of criticism for the report.
Some defended the outlet’s coverage, including Huffington Post Senior Editor Sebastian Murdock, who asserted that the story was intended to bring light to the harassment the shop owner received with her consent.
“The article in question was written in RESPONSE to the harassment this woman received which led her to temporarily closing her business, which is newsworthy,” he tweeted. “The owner freely spoke to the paper and let them photograph her in her shop.”
That is technically true, but critics like Murdock are missing the point.
The article in question was written in RESPONSE to the harassment this woman received which led her to temporarily closing her business, which is newsworthy. The owner freely spoke to the paper and let them photograph her in her shop. https://t.co/tIG1CAOPCr https://t.co/cmWiTTbmeX
— Sebastian Murdock (@SebastianMurdoc) February 17, 2022
People who thought they were doing “journalism”, or maybe just flat out political malice, leaked the private donors. Distributed Denial of Secrets decided to publicly expose the people who donated through GiveSendGo simply because they opposed coronavirus tyranny, according to Reuters.
Related: Doxxed Freedom Convoy Donor Forced to Close Her Restaurant After Threats
The fact that journalists are now reaching out to these citizens who had their privacy invaded and are making them explain themselves is pouring gasoline onto the fire. It’s natural for people to feel pressure to respond to reporters if they make them feel as if they’re in trouble, and journalists will sometimes take advantage of that vulnerability.
The Washington Post is contacting people whose donation info was leaked and who gave as little as 40 dollars to the truckers to ask them why they did so
Email provided to me by a source pic.twitter.com/qbzebYyHiP
— Saagar Enjeti (@esaagar) February 16, 2022
Omar is correct to suggest that stories like the one published in the Ottawa Citizen will invite more harassment against supporters of the convoy. They are doing nothing but legitimizing the unethical actions by these hackers and are fueling a culture that does not allow people to disagree with their government.
The congresswoman is not a moderate by any stretch of the word, but even she understands that the opposition to the convoy has gotten out of hand. While she might agree with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s decision to use the Emergencies Act, which would allow the government to freeze the bank accounts of those protesting vaccine mandates, as the BBC reported, she seems to draw the line at targetted harassment.
Backlash coming from Trudeau and his buddies in the media is only fanning the flames of the protesters, and they should not be surprised if the movement grows larger after these drastic moves. There is a dishonest effort to paint the movement by its most fringe supporters that are very few in number, and that bastardization will fail.
