Hey, "Journalist," I Think They're Talking About You.

Here I am once again coming to the defence of Justin Trudeau, a guy whose party I do not support.

Even though I don't like Justin Trudeau or his policies and I don't find him reliable or trustworthy, I do draw a line at the smear campaign being waged against him by even more unreliable and untrustworthy trolls passing themselves off as legitimate journalists.

Today's National Observer slams these rumour mongers in our midst.

For weeks amid the chaos of the campaign trail, unfounded rumours about Trudeau have circulated around his departure from West Point Grey Academy, the elite private school in Vancouver where the Liberal leader taught for a few years before leaving in 2001. (A now-infamous photo of Trudeau in brownface originated from a West Point Grey yearbook.) 

Gossip rag Frank magazine ⁠— rarely a reputable source ⁠— published an unsourced story claiming Trudeau may have had an affair with the mother of a West Point Grey student. Then, on Friday, a former Liberal operative claimed on Twitter that a scoop from the Globe and Mail was incoming, and a freelance writer named claimed without evidence that media outlets were “sitting on” a story about Trudeau having slept with a teenager (the writer has since said he regrets spreading the rumour). No such story was ever published and there’s no evidence one was ever in the works.

The same day, a right-wing upstart media outlet called The Post Millennial wrote an article about the gossip, prompted by a Globe and Mail reporter questioning Trudeau in a press conference about why he left the job. In response to that question, Trudeau said he had “moved on” with his life.

...The disinformation about Trudeau is widespread and worrying, but it’s difficult for governments to intervene when it’s being spread by domestic actors, said Katie Gibbs, executive director of Evidence for Democracy, a non-partisan not-for-profit that advocates for science-based policy.

It's disheartening that this election, at this very critical and dangerous moment for our country and our people, should turn into what is essentially a pissing contest and a feeding frenzy for media trolls. There is plenty of substance available to the voting public on which to choose a party to support. If you can somehow (believe me, I can't understand how) embrace the government's record and its policies, then vote Liberal. If you can't then choose another option, again preferably based on that party's  history and policies. Whatever you do, steer clear of these supposed "journalists."