Conservative political analyst Tucker Carlson and Canadian psychologist Jordan Peterson were among those who were funded by the Russian state-owned news outlet RT to boost anti-vax claims in 2022, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau claimed while under oath during testimony delivered Wednesday at the Foreign Interference Commission.
The claims were made during the so-called “Freedom Convoy” protests staged by truck drivers in Canada that year. The country began requiring all cross-border truck drivers to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 in January 2022. In response some truck drivers as well as citizens in their private vehicles held protests outside Parliament.
Though Freedom Convoy is finished, Trudeau said, “these messages are still being sent to nowadays.”
He continued, “Answer, yes, we have seen that anti-vax messages during the convoy and during the pandemic were amplified by Russian propaganda, especially in the media of the right, and it was continued by message from the people who were sharing anti-vax messages.”
“It doesn’t mean that there weren’t people who were legitimately anti Vax, but that was hugely amplified by Russian propaganda,” Trudeau added. “And once Russia, Ukraine was invaded, we saw a lot of those channels become a pro-Putin propaganda channels. And as I said, we’ve recently seen that RT is currently funding bloggers and other tube personalities at the right, such as Jordan Peterson, other names that are well known. Tucker, Carson, as well, to, in order to amplify messages that are destabilizing democracies.”
Trudeau, who did not offer evidence to back up his claims, was testifying as part of an independent commission’s look into foreign interference in Canada’s elections. In April, the commission heard evidence from the country’s domestic spy agency that China had interfered with the last two elections held in Canada.
Tucker Carlson has not directly addressed the claims by Trudeau. Peterson took to X, where he wrote, “Hey Russians! Where the hell is my money?! @justintrudeau strikes again Whiffing at a foul ball.”
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