A false security bulletin issued by the department of Public Safety claimed that Freedom Convoy protesters had vandalized federal buildings, according to Access to Information records. .According to Blacklock’s Reporter, the bulletin said it had “confirmation” of the damage, but no evidence was provided. .Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino's office denied any involvement in the disinformation..“The Minister’s office does not direct the Government Operations Centre,” said Alexander Cohen, Mendicino’s spokesperson. The Operations Centre that issued the fake bulletin did not comment.. Fake Freedom Convoy Bulletin .The Operations Centre issued the security bulletin at 3:54 p.m. EST on Jan. 28, 2022, on the first day of the Freedom Convoy protests outside Parliament Hill..“We have received confirmation that protesters have started to enter office buildings in the Ottawa downtown core and are allegedly causing damage,” said the bulletin. .“As a result, Minto Place is going into weekend lockdown mode (all entrance doors will be locked) effective immediately.”.The Public Safety department did not reveal the source of the false claim and there was no incident..According to the Public Order Emergency Commission, departmental records showed that staff tried to portray Freedom Convoy protesters as violent regardless of the truthfulness of the claims..“Some of their more extreme comments, i.e. calling for a Jan. 6 style insurrection, are getting more coverage in the media,” staff wrote in a Jan. 24, 2022 text. .“There could be an opportunity to get in on this growing narrative of the truckers.”.“There’s a danger that if we come down too hard, they might push out the crazies,” wrote an aide. .“That’s fair,” replied another..At a Commons Public Safety committee meeting, Mendicino revealed that he had personally warned some reporters to “be very careful” when reporting on the Freedom Convoy..“As for journalists, trust me, I reached out to some of them and urged them to be very careful,” Mendicino testified on Feb. 25, 2022..Records indicate several media corporations acted on advice that protesters were violent. The Canadian Parliamentary Press Gallery, in a Feb. 1, 2022, letter to the Commons Speaker, complained that the demonstration was unsafe..“Some of our members have been harassed by protesters of the truck convoy in the last few days and we cannot afford to be left exposed without protection for hours outside the building,” wrote Catherine Levesque of the National Post, then-Press Gallery president. Levesque provided no examples..Due to safety concerns, CBC-TV hired security guards to protect its reporters covering the Freedom Convoy..“At CBC, in order to go out, you needed one-to-one security guards,” reporter Judy Trinh told a March 8, 2022, seminar at Carleton University. .“Your camera would have a security guard and the reporter would have a security guard and there weren’t enough.”.“This was a real threat,” said Trinh. .No Freedom Convoy demonstrator was ever charged with any misconduct involving a reporter.
