Not only farmers spread manure

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 11/02/2023 (1051 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

They call it “rage farming.”

It’s a new phrase in the political lexicon, defined by dictionary.com as “a slang term for the political tactic of intentionally provoking political opponents in order to create or increase exposure for one’s group or cause.”

Wikipedia defines rage farming as “a manipulative tactic to elicit outrage with the goal of increasing internet traffic, online engagement, revenue and support” and points out that many social media platforms have algorithms that “reward increased positive and negative engagement by directing traffic to posts and amplifying them.”

In other words, rage-farming politicians post incendiary, torqued-up commentary about their rivals in order to generate social media traffic and, ultimately, raise money and recruit supporters of their cause.

If that doesn’t sound familiar, you haven’t been paying attention to the recent antics of the Conservative Party of Canada leader, Pierre Poilievre.

Last November, he released a Youtube video claiming “everything’s broken in Canada” and placed the blame on Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. The video has been viewed more than 237,000 times, despite the fact there is ample evidence that Canada is most definitely not broken.

Indeed, Canada ranked first in the world last year for highest quality of life, and the International Monetary Fund says we have one of the world’s highest standards of living. Among G20 nations, we rank first for peace and second for democracy. We also rank sixth in the world for well-being and third for environmental quality. Among the Top 20 “strongest national brands,” BrandFinance ranked Canada at the top of the list.

On Jan. 2, Poilievre posted a tweet that said “Man misses his wedding because Trudeau’s passport offices are broken.” The tweet linked to a Youtube video in which Poilievre talked about a Calgarian named “Mustafa” who missed his wedding in Cuba because he couldn’t get a passport he had applied for 10 months earlier.

It now appears that Poilievre’s story was a fabrication. Journalists searched high and low for Mustafa, but he is nowhere to be found. Indeed, I applied to renew my expired passport in early January and received it just 16 days later.

On Jan. 20, Poilievre tweeted: “Trudeau’s inflationary policies drive up rent. He refuses to confront local gatekeepers who block construction of new affordable apartments.” That tweet has almost 300,000 views, but it ignores the fact the Trudeau government has promised to spend $10 billion on affordable housing projects over the next five years. Beyond that, residential rent rates are largely controlled by provincial governments, and the same goes for zoning and land use policies in the various provinces.

On Jan. 25, he tweeted: “Justin Trudeau’s inflationary deficits give us an 8th consecutive interest rate hike from the Bank of Canada today. Canadians now forced to pay the price for Liberal spending through more expensive mortgages, loans, and servicing of Trudeau’s debt.” That tweet has almost 400,000 views.

Poilievre would have you believe inflation and rising interest rates are only problems in Canada, and that they have been caused by the Trudeau government’s emergency spending during the pandemic. We all know that isn’t true.

Interest rates are set by the Bank of Canada, not the federal government. The rate of inflation is lower in Canada than many other nations, and is largely the result of supply shortages caused by the rapid post-pandemic economic rebound, along with the conflict in Ukraine. In fact, it is widely expected that interest rates will soon be going down again.

On Jan. 25, Poilievre also tweeted: “The Trudeau government promised that rates would be low for long. People believed them — and racked up massive personal debts. Now, they face bankruptcy. Will Trudeau pay their mortgages for them?” That tweet has more than three-quarter of a million views, but it’s a lie.

The Trudeau government has never promised interest rates would remain low forever. In fact, they said the opposite. Along with banks, the Bank of Canada and various provincial governments, the federal government constantly warned Canadians about taking on too much personal debt because of the likelihood interest rates would increase.

On Jan. 27, Poilievre tweeted: “After 8 years of Trudeau everything is broken. I’ll fix it. Bring it home.” That tweet has more than 600,000 views. He returns to that lie from November. We all know everything in Canada is not broken.

On Jan. 30, Poilievre tweeted: “8 years of Trudeau. Mortgage payments have doubled. He’s out of touch. Canadians are out of money.” The tweet has been viewed more than 700,000 times, but (again) it ignores the fact Canadians were repeatedly cautioned about the possibility their mortgage payments could increase beyond their ability to make the payments. Heck, I wrote columns warning people about the perils of taking on too much debt, and the likelihood interest rates (and mortgage payments) would increase.

Also on Jan. 30, Poilievre tweeted: “After 8 years of Trudeau, rent is skyrocketing. He has failed to remove gatekeepers to free up more land for building. His inflationary spending is costing everyone more. He’s out of touch. Canadians are out of money.” That tweet has been viewed more than a quarter-million times, but it (again) ignores the fact provincial and local governments control almost every aspect of zoning bylaws, land-use policies and residential rental rates.

Lie after lie after lie.

Come to think about it, maybe that’s why it’s called “rage farming.” After all, many farmers spread manure. And so does Pierre Poilievre.

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