Press Progress editor says outlet verified evidence before publishing explosive Caylan Ford claims

CALGARY — The Press Progress editor who wrote a controversial 2019 article about former United Conservative Party nomination candidate Caylan Ford testified his outlet verified Facebook Messenger messages attributed to Ford and sought comment from her before publication.Luke LeBrun’s testimony on Thursday in Calgary came as part of Ford’s $7.65-million defamation lawsuit against multiple defendants, including the CBC, Toronto Star and the Broadbent Institute.Ford alleges defamatory reporting and coordinated conduct by these outlets, with political strategist Karim Jivraj acting as the main source, destroyed her personal and professional life.LeBrun told the court that in 2018 and 2019, he had been receiving materials from "multiple different directions" and was attempting to determine which tips could be authentic and newsworthy.He said some of the earliest material he had received from a source — who later turned out to be Jivraj — came in the form of screenshots involving a Facebook Messenger conversation between him and Ford.According to LeBrun, Jivraj repeatedly contacted him in early 2019 with potential story ideas involving Ford and offered ideas about the timing of publication. .Former UCP insider crafted 'bombshell' stories, selected evidence for 'devastating' impact on Caylan Ford.However, LeBrun testified screenshots alone were not enough to justify a story and held off on doing an article in light of other issues he considered more pressing.He also told the court that his outlet couldn’t rely on a couple of screenshots and added the material needed to be independently verified and that Ford would have to be contacted for comment.LeBrun told Broadbent Institute counsel Perry Mack that he directed Press Progress’s Alberta reporter Stephen Magusiak to verify the screenshots attributed to Ford in a face-to-face meeting with Jivraj on March 18, 2019, the day of the publication of the article titled UCP Candidate Complained ‘White Supremacist Terrorists’ Are Treated Unfairly, Leaked Messages Show.In a text message LeBrun sent to Magusiak before the meeting with Jivraj, he told the Alberta reporter to ask Jivraj if he would be comfortable being described as a “prominent Muslim conservative.”The reasoning behind this was that Jivraj had expressed concerns in the past that the UCP would try to discredit him as “disgruntled” or a “stalker,” or say the messages were old and “who cares?”It was alleged identifying Jivraj as a Muslim conservative who came forward following the Christchurch mosque shooting in New Zealand could make critics look bad for attacking him..'CANVAS OF CHAOS': Witness alleges Karim Jivraj left wake of political destruction in Caylan Ford defamation trial.LeBrun testified that upon meeting Jivraj, Magusiak reviewed the messages and clicked through to Ford’s Facebook profile, confirming it linked to a real account.After receiving confirmation, LeBrun said he began drafting the story that afternoon and tried to contact Ford, offering her the opportunity to respond, providing her with four highlighted excerpts he intended to publish.Some of the excerpts LeBrun included in the story were comments attributed to Ford related to race, immigration and differences between "islamic and white supremacist" terrorism.“I think it’s quite clear [they were] problematic,” LeBrun told the court.He further testified references to “white peoples in their homelands” suggested the existence of white nations or white homelands and reflected themes commonly associated with “white nationalists.”LeBrun testified he later asked Jivraj whether he had Ford’s personal email address after he had tried reaching out to her campaign and had not gotten a response.He added that his usual practice was to allow roughly three hours for comment from organizations or campaigns and testified that no one acting for Ford requested more time.The court heard that later on the evening of March 19, Ford sent an email to LeBrun asking him, “Who shared these statements with you?”LeBrun replied the source was a “prominent conservative” and that Press Progress had reviewed the cited Facebook Messenger messages in person.After receiving no further response from Ford or her campaign LeBrun stated he went forward with publication.

Press Progress editor says outlet verified evidence before publishing explosive Caylan Ford claims

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