Union ministry of external affairs (MEA) spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal recently claimed at a press conference that the social media page of the news outlet ‘The Australia Today’ had been blocked in Canada. The official statement from the ministry asserted that this action occurred just an hour or a few after the outlet had broadcast a press conference featuring Indian external affairs minister (EAM) S Jaishankar and Australian foreign minister Penny Wong. The MEA criticised the incident, calling it an example of Canada’s hypocrisy concerning freedom of expression.
#WATCH | Delhi: On Canada blocking or banning the prominent outlet there- Australia Today, MEA Spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal says, “We understand that the social media handles, pages of this particular outlet, which is an important diaspora outlet, has been blocked and are not… pic.twitter.com/r0Igyg3Ho0
— ANI (@ANI) November 7, 2024
The Australian media outlet, operated by Indian-origin Jitarth Jai Bharadwaj, issued a statement alleging that its interview with S Jaishankar and coverage of the press conference with Penny Wong had been restricted on social media following an order from the Canadian government. The statement was accompanied by a cropped screenshot of its Facebook page displaying a notice that said, “People in Canada cannot view this content.”
Statement from The Australia Today:
We at @TheAusToday would like to extend our heartfelt gratitude to every #news outlet, #journalist, and #supporter who stood by us during a challenging time. The recent restriction and ban on our interview with Indian External Affairs Minister… pic.twitter.com/53UTd5Le19— The Australia Today (@TheAusToday) November 7, 2024
Jitarth Jai Bharadwaj, co-founder of The Australia Today, gave an interview to news agency ANI, where he criticised the state of press freedom in Canada and asserted that his outlet’s page had been blocked after publishing the interview with Jaishankar.
Following these claims, major Indian media outlets amplified the story. This list includes prominent platforms such as India Today, Indian Express, Economic Times, The Hindu, Times of India, WION News, The Print, CNN News18, News24, propaganda outlet OpIndia, Russian media outlets like RT and Sputnik. Well-known journalists like Sidhant Sibal, Padmaja Joshi, and Shiv Aroor also shared the claim without verification.
Fact Check
Alt News attempted to access the Facebook page of The Australia Today using a Canadian IP address via a VPN. The message displayed said: “People in Canada can’t see this content. In response to Canadian government legislation, news content can’t be viewed in Canada.”. Below the notice, a ‘Learn More’ button is visible. Notably, the cropped image shared by The Australia Today in its statement omits this full notice, and the ‘Learn More’ button is not visible.
Clicking on the ‘Learn More‘ button leads to detailed information explaining that news content is restricted in Canada under the Online News Act. It states that content from any page associated with a news outlet cannot be viewed or shared by users in Canada, which includes articles and multimedia content posted by news publishers.
The page also clarifies that users cannot access links or content from any news outlet’s page, even if they search for or follow it.
We tested this restriction on several other news outlet pages using a VPN. The same notice appeared on these pages, indicating that the restriction is not specific to The Australia Today. For example, the notice also appears on the page of Canada’s public broadcaster CBC. Similarly, when we checked the Facebook page of Alt News, text content was visible, but the link to its website was not accessible, accompanied by the same notice. The ‘Learn More’ page specifies that Meta’s review team is responsible for identifying news outlets affected by the legislation.
What is Canada’s Online News Act?
In response to the Online News Act (C-18 Bill) passed by Canada in 2023, Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, has blocked the availability of news content in Canada. Meta said that from August 1, news links and content shared by news outlets will not be visible to users in Canada, while international outlets will be able to continue posting news links and content on the platforms as before, but this content will not be visible to Canadian users.
According to information on the Government of Canada website, the Online News Act aims to ensure that major digital platforms compensate news outlets for their content, thereby creating a framework for fair business. The move highlights the importance of news outlets in supporting democracy and addressing the challenges faced by the business of news, which is struggling with declining advertising revenue despite the increase in online news consumption.
Notably, the Canadian foreign ministry issued a statement in response to these claims, unequivocally denying any involvement in blocking The Australia Today. The statement clarified that the Canadian government had not blocked any media outlet. Instead, Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, implemented the restriction on all news content as part of its compliance with Canada’s Online News Act.
Following an official response from the Canadian government, The Indian Express issued a clarification, expressed regret, and retracted its article on the matter.
To sum it up, major Indian media outlets, along with the Union external affairs ministry, The Australia Today, and its co-founder Jitarth Jai Bharadwaj, falsely claimed that the Canadian government had blocked the page of outlet following the broadcast of a press conference with EAM S Jaishankar and Australian foreign minister Penny Wong. In reality, the restriction on viewing the news content was a result of Meta’s actions in response to a Canadian legislation.
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