Category: Uncategorized

A few weeks ago I was interviewed by Associated Press about the religious rhetoric in America under the Trump administration, and the differences here in Canada. While Canada is not as overtly religious in our politics, we must note that there is a strong Christian nationalist movement here in Canada, that we cannot dismiss. If we do, it could be at our own peril.

I will be a keynote speaker at the Annual Secular Arizona Summit on December 10, 2022. I will be addressing the role of conspiracy theories and Christian Nationalism on American politics. Registration is required.

Myself and three political science professors were on a panel the day after the midterms to discuss what had occurred. There were still some positions which were too early to decide, but we attempted to understand the lead up to the election and the vote itself, through a polling, foreign relations, extremist, and gender lens.

I am proud to announce that I have accepted an invitation to join The Vaccine Uptake Network, a project of the Metropolis Institute and the Association for Canadian Studies. I will be addressing the impact and role of disinformation/conspiracy theories in vaccine hesitancy in Canada. The Metropolis Institute has created a network dedicated to improving COVID-19 vaccine uptake and building confidence among newcomer and racialized communities across Canada through two key pillars: research and outreach.

I am excited to announce that I will be working with Dr. Megan Boler at the University of Toronto and Dr. Barbara Perry at the Centre on Hate, Bias, and Extremism, as a Research Consultant on their project “Promoting Social Cohesion and Resilience to Far-Right Disinformation through Adult Disinformation Literacy: A Systematic Review and Pilot Assessment of Gaps and Needs.” This is an amazing preliminary project to assess where we need to develop adult literacy on disinformation. I am super excited to work with both these academics, and to continue my connection with Dr. Perry.

I am excited to announce that I am now a Post-Doctoral Fellow with the Disinformation Project, in the School of Communications at SFU. Working with Dr. Ahmed Al-Rawi on the Understanding hate groups narratives and conspiracy theories in traditional and alternative social media project. This project empirically examines Canadian right-wing extremism (RWE) narratives, conspiracies, and discourses on traditional and alternative social media. The project not only examines the textual content but also the multimodal discourses such as the use of memes, hashtags, emojis, and videos which, we argue, provide important clues on the way certain hate messages are communicated. Finally, the use of a unique mixed method that involves a networked thematic examination of social media posts as well as a keyword-based and other digital approaches provide richer and more meaningful insight into the nature of Canadian RWE discourses than if only one textual analysis approach is followed.

More information on The Disinformation Project.

Despite the plethora of information about the safety of COVID-19 vaccines, a small, but vocal minority of Canadians continue to push conspiracy theories. If someone you know buys into these unfounded theories, it can be difficult to approach the topic of vaccination in conversation.

Carmen Celestini from Ontario Tech’s Centre on Hate, Bias and Extremism says you should avoid getting into a debate.

Read the full article on Durham Radio News.

At the heart of the Great Reset Conspiracy, a theory that global elites are using the pandemic to establish a New World Order (NWO), is a confluence of fears brought forward by the pandemic, including economic, health, and the long-standing notion of elites enslaving humanity. The words of Prince Charles on June 3rd, 2020 to encourage the “resetting” of the global economy and humanity’s response to potentially cataclysmic climate change, did not evoke a movement, but instead served as the “proof” of the beginning of a New World Order (NWO). The words “the Great Reset” have now been uttered by Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, and conspiracists have re-interpreted President Joe Biden’s campaign slogan “Build Back Better,” as proof that the global elites are using the pandemic as their opportunity to establish the NWO.

Read the full article on H-Nationalism.

The most extreme congregations believe that the government is using the COVID scare to grab control of people’s religious freedoms and individual rights, says another religious studies scholar, Carmen Celestini.

“They actually refer to the masks we wear as face diapers.”

Read the full article by Luisa D’Amato on The Waterloo Record.