Canadian Armed Forces Veteran James Topp's served a notice of libel against Global News, its parent company Corus Entertainment Inc., and reporter Rachel Gilmore for an article implying he's a white supremacist.."We are publicizing this development to mitigate against the reputational harm Mr. Topp has sustained by being called a white supremacist on the internet," Topp's team said. .The notice of libel that was filed on Wednesday claims Topp, who recently marched across Canada to protest vaccine mandates, was harmed by the Global News article: 'Good PR': Why anti-hate experts are urging politicians to step up vetting practices..While the article itself does not describe Topp as a far-right extremist or white supremacist, the original URL for the article included the words, "james-topp-white-supremacists-far-right." Associated tags also suggested that Topp was a far-right extremist, white supremacist and an Islamophobe. . James Topp Libel .An editor’s note was later added to the story, explaining the URL was revised to omit a reference to 'white supremacist and to "avoid any misunderstanding that persons named in the URL are associated with that label.."However, the URL still appears to label Topp and Stephanie McEvoy, the Ottawa organizer for a march against COVID-19, as "far-right.".Topp claims any "ordinary, objective, reasonable readers" would see the article as suggesting the veteran is associated with white supremacy. .The letter claimed the defamatory words were malicious and defamatory, lowered Topp's reputation, and will continue to cause "reputational and financial harm, along with emotional pain and suffering."."They knew that the defamatory words were posted to the Internet where they would be accessible to the world at large, and in particular to those in the communities that were aware of who Mr. Top is and his ongoing protest," the letter reads. ."They knew that the defamatory words were likely to cause reputational and other harm to Mr. Topp, but proceeded in any event.".Topp is demanding Global News publish an "unequivocal apology and retraction" of the defamatory words in a written from. He is asking that the apology be posted in "prominent locations and on all platforms used by the intended defendants.".Gilmore did not respond to a request for comment.
