Joe Concha on CNN's Freedom Convoy coverage: It should be 'CGNN' for 'Canadian Government News Network'
The Fox News contributor blasted the network for its coverage of Canada's Freedom Convoy protests after it coined the movement a 'threat to democracy.'
As Canadians truckers begin their second week of protests against vaccine mandates, media outlets have described and labeled the protests as an "insurrection" and said their actions amount to "sedition."
The protests, labeled as the "Freedom Convoy," first began in Vancouver, British Columbia on January 23. Hundreds of big rig trucks traveled to Ottawa where they were joined by thousands of Canadians on Saturday in protest against Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s coronavirus policies.
Trudeau denounced the protests while speaking in parliament on Monday.
"Individuals are trying to blockade our economy, our democracy, and our fellow citizens' daily lives. It has to stop," Trudeau said.
Drivers work to move a gravel truck after a breakthrough resolved the impasse where anti-COVID-19 vaccine mandate demonstrators blocked the highway at the busy U.S. border crossing in Coutts, Alberta, Wednesday, Feb. 2, 2022. (Jeff McIntosh /The Canadian Press)
Many media outlets echoed Trudeau's comments and appeared to express disapproval for the protests.
CNN’s "Inside Politics" went as far as to describe the protest as a "sedition" and a "threat to democracy." CNN anchor John King quoted the Ottawa police chief calling the movement "a nationwide insurrection driven by madness."
"And just think of the language. I know it sounds familiar to you. A threat to democracy. An insurrection, sedition. I want to be clear things have quieted down a bit, but that does not take away from the basic truck in, right, the sit-in that’s going in right in front of the national parliament," CNN correspondent Paula Newton added.
As the convoy grew, more mainstream outlets shared their opposition to the truckers.
Family, friends and neighbors gather to show support for the freedom convoy on the Trans-Canada highway in Grenfell, Saskatchewan, Canada January 25, 2022 in this screenshot obtained from a video on social media. (Mark Dimler/via REUTERS )
"It's a cult," MSNBC's Joe Scarborough declared last month.
"Now they have met the enemy, and the enemy – their enemy – is themselves because they've become what they hated. They've become what they mocked," Scarborough added. "And now they're taking food from soup kitchens because they're so put upon for being asked to do what they've been asked to do – required to do – their entire lives. It's a cult."
Another segment from "MSNBC Reports" pushed the idea that the protests are a "nationwide insurrection."
NBC "Nightly News" referred to the protest as a "siege" and "unprecedented occupation." ABC "World News Tonight" similarly quoted the police chief in referring to the convoy as an "insurrection."
Washington Post cartoonist published several drawings that attacked the Freedom Convoy by describing the anti-mandate protesters as facists.
LAURA INGRAHAM REVEALS WHAT LESSONS THE US CAN LEARN FROM CANADA’S ‘FREEDOM CONVOY’
On January 29, the Washington Post additionally published an opinion piece urging that "Canada must confront the toxic ‘Freedom Convoy’ head-on."
Support pours in for Canadian truckers protesting Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's COVID-19 vaccine mandate (FOX NEWS DIGITAL)
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Ottawa Mayor Jim Watson officially declared a state of emergency from the Freedom Convoy while the police announced efforts to arrest people attempting to bring supplies to the protestors. Justin Trudeau frequently called out the "hateful rhetoric" of the convoy, condemning "violence" coming from the protests.
Fox News' Brandon Gillespie contributed to this report.
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