The Listening Post

As Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe has seen his popularity wane over the years, he has developed a time-worn tactic when faced with criticism in the media: dust off the anti-imperialist credentials and deflect attention onto Zimbabwe's white former colonial masters inside and outside the country. Mugabe's response to a recent incident involving his wife, Grace, in South Africa, was a case in point. When the South African press censured Mrs Mugabe for allegedly assaulting a woman in Johannesburg, the president countered by questioning why whites still wield so much power in South Africa. The Listening Post's Nic Muirhead reports on Africa's oldest sitting president and the media legacy he will leave behind. More from The Listening Post on: YouTube - http://aje.io/listeningpostYT Facebook - http://facebook.com/AJListeningPost Twitter - http://twitter.com/AJListeningPost Website - http://aljazeera.com/listeningpost

India is dealing with the fallout from an unusual kind of protest that took place last weekend. Thirty-eight people were killed during a violent demonstration against the conviction of the leader of a religious sect for raping two of his female followers. Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh, one of India's so-called "godmen", has as many as 60 million online devotees, and last weekend's protest was not the first to turn violent in his defence. The reporter who first revealed Singh's sexual misconduct was shot dead shortly after the story broke. Singh is the leader of the Dera Sacha Sauda sect, and a flamboyant character who has used the Indian airwaves to build a one-man publicity machine. Rape allegations as well as suspicions that Singh ordered the killing of a journalist have been hanging over his head for 15 years. But that hasn't stopped Indian media outlets from giving him publicity. More from The Listening Post on: YouTube - http://aje.io/listeningpostYT Facebook - http://facebook.com/AJListeningPost Twitter - http://twitter.com/AJListeningPost Website - http://aljazeera.com/listeningpost

On The Listening Post this week: how Indian media cover the so-called 'godmen' in the country. Plus, Mugabe and Zimbabwe's media. India: Godmen, con men and the media India is dealing with the fallout from an unusual kind of protest that took place last weekend. Thirty-eight people were killed during a violent demonstration against the conviction of the leader of a religious sect for raping two of his female followers. Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh, one of India's so-called "godmen", has as many as 60 million online devotees, and last weekend's protest was not the first to turn violent in his defence. The reporter who first revealed Singh's sexual misconduct was shot dead shortly after the story broke. Singh is a flamboyant character who has used the Indian airwaves to build a one-man publicity machine, and his case has shed a light on how sect leaders are presented in the Indian media. Contributors: Swati Chaturved, Author and journalist Vineet Kumar, Media critic Anurag Tripathi, Journalist Srinivasa Prasad, Contributor, First Post On our radar A new law in China will require all web users in the country to verify their identities before commenting online. Ukraine's government has deported three foreign journalists in less than a week, as it continues its crackdown on dissenting voices. Rupert Murdoch's 21st Century Fox stops broadcasting Fox News in the UK, as the verdict on the company's Sky takeover bid looms. Mugabe and Zimbabwe's media As Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe has seen his popularity wane over the years, he has developed a time-worn tactic when faced with criticism in the media: dust off the anti-imperialist credentials and deflect attention onto Zimbabwe's white former colonial masters inside and outside the country. Mugabe's response to a recent incident involving his wife, Grace, in South Africa, was a case in point. When the South African press censured Mrs Mugabe for allegedly assaulting a woman in Johannesburg, the president countered by questioning why whites still wield so much power in South Africa. The Listening Post's Nic Muirhead reports on Africa's oldest sitting president and the media legacy he will leave behind. Contributors: Ibbo Mandaza, Political analyst George Nyrota, Former editor Daily News Wendy Willems, Assistant professor London School of Economics More from The Listening Post on: YouTube - http://aje.io/listeningpostYT Facebook - http://facebook.com/AJListeningPost Twitter - http://twitter.com/AJListeningPost Website - http://aljazeera.com/listeningpost

Fifteen months into his presidency, Rodrigo Duterte's brutal crackdown on the drug trade does not seem to be slowing down. The Philippine president says he wants to kill as many people involved with drugs as possible and lists his critics as "public enemies". Journalists are among the people on that list, and now, NGO workers have also been moved into that category. Earlier this month, the president told the police, on camera, to shoot human rights workers who "obstruct justice". Duterte clearly understands the role such advocates play in the media food chain. Silencing them is another way to keep a lid on this story. Despite his critics in the media, the polls say Duterte remains popular with Filipinos. For that, he may have bloggers and social media figures to thank. The so-called DDS, Die-hard Duterte Supporters, have the president's back, denigrating his critics online and shaping public opinion. "Human rights groups are beginning to gain ground. So now he has to take them on," says Vergel Santos, chairman, Center for Media Freedom and Responsibility. "When you are a president who is predisposed to a dictatorial leadership, you are necessarily against human rights." Earlier this week, CCTV footage showed a subdued 17-year-old Kian Loyd Delos Santos getting dragged by police into an alley, where he was subsequently killed. Police called it a shoot-out with a drug suspect, but eyewitnesses say he was distraught, telling the police he had to go home, that he had school the next day. They say the police gave him a gun and told him to run. He was shot and killed. It was just one death, among the thousands killed in the Filipino war of drugs. But this particular killing - and the story behind it - have lingered in the mainstream news media and online, in a way that others have not. It wasn't the Filipino media's reporting, their constant documenting of the killings or their raising of human rights issues that ended up putting police under investigation and the Duterte government on the defensive. It was pure happenstance, the existence of a single CCTV camera, and the emergence of about two seconds of real-time video that put the lie to the official version of one teenager's brutal killing, that changed the story. "In the other killings, it's just the police version saying that, you know, that the criminal allegedly fought it out with them and that's why they were killed," says Felipe Villamor, Philippines reporter for The New York Times. But in Kian's case, "they [the police] got caught." Contributors: Maria Ressa, CEO, Rappler Vergel Santos, chairman, Center for Media Freedom and Responsibility RJ Nieto, publisher, Thinking Pinoy Karen Gomez-Dumpit, commissioner, Commission on Human Rights Felipe Villamor, Philippines reporter, The New York Times More from The Listening Post on: YouTube - http://aje.io/listeningpostYT Facebook - http://facebook.com/AJListeningPost Twitter - http://twitter.com/AJListeningPost Website - http://aljazeera.com/listeningpost

There was a time when just about every American news organisation had at least one reporter dedicated to the labour beat. Yet, over the years, the US media has deserted workers and sought more upscale, affluent audiences. When labour issues are reported, they are often seen through the lens of business, leaving little opportunity for the US working class too see itself and its concerns reflected in the media. When you consider that more 150 million Americans are in full or part time employment it's a wonder there aren't more stories about workers and the challenges they face in testing economic times. Some of the news space that used to be devoted to labour issues has been surrendered to market and business news, as newspapers abandon mass readership in favour the more upscale, affluent audiences their advertisers are chasing. And then there's the journalists themselves and the class divide. Even though they share many of the economic concerns their readers have, they don't seem to identify with the working man or woman. "Labour as an issue has been really absent from the media coverage," explains Michelle Chen, contributing writer of The Nation. "Business reporting, whatever we call economics reporting now, is focused on financial markets. And we know from our everyday lives that financial markets is not where 99.9% of Americans live their lives." More from The Listening Post on: YouTube - http://aje.io/listeningpostYT Facebook - http://facebook.com/AJListeningPost Twitter - http://twitter.com/AJListeningPost Website - http://aljazeera.com/listeningpost

On The Listening Post this week: The most violent week yet in Duterte's Philippines sees over 90 killed and NGO workers threatened. Plus, reporting on labour and the working class in the US. Since coming to power last June, Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte has been on a mission to eradicate what he claims is the country's pandemic drug problem. The brutal crackdown on the drug trade in the country is showing no signs of slowing down. Last week, 58 alleged drug dealers and users were killed in and around the capital, Manila. One of the victims, a 17-year-old, made headlines. Police say he was killed in a two-way firefight. Eyewitnesses, backed by CCTV footage, tell a different story. President Rodrigo Duterte has dismissed the killings of children as "collateral damage" while labelling anyone who criticises his deadly approach as an "enemy of the state". Contributors: Maria Ressa, CEO, Rappler Vergel Santos, chairman, Center for Media Freedom and Responsibility RJ Nieto, publisher, Thinking Pinoy Karen Gomez-Dumpit, commissioner, Commission on Human Rights Felipe Villamor, Philippines reporter, The New York Times On our radar New owners for two major South African media outlets, but their pro-Zuma reporting is likely to stay the same. Global press freedom watchers, Reporters Without Borders, says its website has been blocked in Egypt. Fictional stories about Qatar's rift with its neighbours continue to dominate regional media in the Gulf. Reporting labour in the US media There was a time when just about every American news organisation had at least one reporter dedicated to the labour beat. Yet, over the years, the US media has deserted workers and sought more upscale, affluent audiences. When labour issues are reported, they are often seen through the lens of business, leaving little opportunity for the US working class to see itself and its concerns reflected in the media. The Listening Post's Will Yong reports on the labour beat and representations of working class Americans in the US media. Contributors: Cora Lewis, labour reporter, Buzzfeed Michelle Chen, contributing writer, The Nation Mike Elk, cofounder, Payday Report Christopher R Martin, professor, University of Northern Iowa More from The Listening Post on: YouTube - http://aje.io/listeningpostYT Facebook - http://facebook.com/AJListeningPost Twitter - http://twitter.com/AJListeningPost Website - http://aljazeera.com/listeningpost

As China's ruling Communist Party gears up for its 19th Congress, President Xi Jinping is calling on the country's media to play their part in touting his grand vision for China, and especially an infrastructure venture called the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). This mammoth infrastructure project along the ancient Silk Route touches on more than 60 countries, involves trillions of dollars of investment and, in the party's view, requires a giant PR effort. The Communist Party's propaganda department issues daily directives on how the BRI is to be reported. And the state broadcaster CCTV has just premiered the first of a six-part documentary series selling the BRI to the Chinese people. "Because Xi Jinping has attached his name to it [BRI] very prominently, there's very little space for more critical pieces looking at some of the problematic issues," says Benjamin Haas, Beijing correspondent for The Guardian. "One of them is the fact that China is going to be building coal-fired power plants in many developing countries, which is obviously not good for the environment. But you never see an article that is just focusing on the negative aspects of this project," Haas says. The propaganda machine is also trying to shape the conversation on social media. Censors are vetting political jokes and commentary. New laws are restricting who can distribute news, and which VPNs, virtual private networks, can be used to circumvent what has come to be known as the 'great firewall' of China. "The approaching 19th Congress is probably the most important of its kind since the Cultural Revolution," explains Chang Ping, former news director for Southern Weekend. "It will determine the future of China's political situation, especially Xi Jinping's personal future and whether he can be re-elected. Control of the media is as strict as ever, but this time it's particularly stringent, on both online and traditional outlets." The relationship between Chinese media and the Communist Party was forged by Chairman Mao, founder of the Party and the country's leader for nearly three decades. In 1942, Mao said "the struggle for the liberation of the Chinese people has to be fought on two fronts: the pen and the gun". There have been periods of loosened media restrictions over the past years, but now is definitely not one of those times. President Xi's ambitions for China have meant the screws have been tightened considerably. Once critical investigative outlets like the Southern Weekend newspaper and the Caijing magazine have been reigned in and a string of journalists have been paraded on CCTV, confessing to crimes. In 2016, Xi toured the three major state-owned outlets: news agency Xinhua, national newspaper China Daily and Central Chinese Television headquarters. He asked for the media's "absolute loyalty" to the party. With the political stakes so high for President Xi Jinping, Beijing is building a bigger, better firewall to block dissident content online or in the mainstream news media. Contributors: Chang Ping, former news director, Southern Weekend Steve Tsang, professor, SOAS China Institute Benjamin Haas, Beijing correspondent, The Guardian Xiaoling Zhang, Nottingham University More from The Listening Post on: YouTube - http://aje.io/listeningpostYT Facebook - http://facebook.com/AJListeningPost Twitter - http://twitter.com/AJListeningPost Website - http://aljazeera.com/listeningpost

When hundreds of far-right protesters gathered in Charlottesville, Virginia last week, it was ostensibly to protect the planned removal of a Confederate monument. They were also out to assert themselves on the public stage, in front of the news cameras. Given that the Robert E. Lee monument in question harkens back to the era of slavery in the US, a potent message was being sent. They were met with force that didn't come from the police. And when a car ploughed into a crowd of anti-fascist protesters, killing one and injuring many more, the recriminations were swift. One of the so-called news sites that has been incubating far-right culture - a favourite of white supremacists, The Daily Stormer, was dumped by its online hosts for its toxic take on what happened in Charlottesville. But that will hardly shake the confidence of the movement, not with the mixed, coded messaging coming out of President Donald Trump's White House. Some of the president's comments had voices in the white power movement rejoicing. "The response of Trump to say that 'we're seeing hatred on many sides' is really conspicuous and I think that people on the right are saying 'We got away with it,' says Shuja Haider, editor of Viewpoint Magazine. Trump waited another 48 hours to condemn racism. "Everyone heard that silence as an unwillingness to call out white supremacy and Nazism by name," explains Andrew Marantz, contributing editor for The New Yorker. "I think that the neo-Nazis heard it that way. I think that the far left heard it that way. I think Republican senators heard it that way." Like many politicians, Donald Trump leaves much open to interpretation. And for all his bluntness, all the hectic, late-night tweeting, Trump is more skilled at using coded messaging - what's known as dog whistling. It all started with his campaign slogan "Make America Great Again", which is seen by some as a rallying cry for a return to a different America, a whiter one. "Dog whistle politics is just that. An attempt to convey racialised sentiments without using actual racialised language," says Osamudia James, a law professor at the University of Miami. "One of the reasons these coded dog whistles are so effective is because while they reach the extremists that they're targeted towards, they kind of escape detection by most people," adds Haidar. The showdown in Charlottesville took many Americans by surprise. But should it have? More from The Listening Post on: YouTube - http://aje.io/listeningpostYT Facebook - http://facebook.com/AJListeningPost Twitter - http://twitter.com/AJListeningPost Website - http://aljazeera.com/listeningpost

On The Listening Post this week: How the Charlottesville fallout has drawn US President Donald Trump out on the far right. Plus, how China manages the message ahead of the 19th Congress. Charlottesville: White supremacy and the White House When hundreds of far-right protestors gathered in Charlottesville, Virginia last week it was ostensibly to protect a statue, a symbol. They were also out to assert themselves on the public stage, in front of the news cameras. They were met with force that didn't come from the police. And when a car ploughed into a crowd of anti-fascist protestors, killing one and injuring many more, the recriminations were swift. The driver of the car reportedly had links to a neo-Nazi movement called Vanguard America, and within 48 hours of the killing, the web hosting service used by the movement dropped the group at the insistence of online activists. Another neo-Nazi site, the Daily Stormer, was dumped by its host, following a wave of complaints online about a deeply offensive story the site published on the woman killed by the car driver. But with the mixed, coded messages coming out of the Trump White House, how has US President Donald Trump's messaging emboldened the far-right project? Contributors: Sarah Posner, investigative fund, Nation Institute Angelo Carusone, president, Media Matters for America Shuja Haider, Viewpoint Magazine Osamudia James, law professor, Miami University Law School Andrew Marantz, contributing editor, the New Yorker On our radar The Iranian government is stepping up its intimidation game towards exiled journalists not toeing Tehran's line - freezing the assets of 152 BBC Persian journalists. A Swedish journalist has disappeared under mysterious circumstances after boarding a home-built submarine in Denmark. Political satire has crossed one of those red lines in Iraq that authorities don't want crossed - this time, the political comedy came from The Al Basheer Show. China: Xuanchuan (propaganda) overdrive As China's ruling Communist Party gears up for its 19th Congress in a couple of months, President Xi Jinping is calling on the country's media to play their part in touting his grand vision for China. The propaganda machine is also trying to shape the conversation on social media. Censors are vetting political jokes and commentary. New laws are restricting who can distribute news, and which VPNs (virtual private networks) can be used to circumvent the "great firewall" of China. The Listening Post's Meenakshi Ravi reports on control and censorship in China ahead of the 19th Party Congress. Contributors: Chang Ping, former news director, Southern Weekend Steve Tsang, professor, SOAS China Institute Benjamin Haas, Beijing correspondent, The Guardian Xiaoling Zhang, Nottingham University More from The Listening Post on: YouTube - http://aje.io/listeningpostYT Facebook - http://facebook.com/AJListeningPost Twitter - http://twitter.com/AJListeningPost Website - http://aljazeera.com/listeningpost

Russia and China have both recently taken action against the use of VPNs, virtual private networks. VPNs enable internet users in one country to surf the web as if they are in another. Up until now, China has taken a selective approach to prohibiting VPN use - usually choosing to look away when people tunnelled through the "great firewall" that Beijing has put in place to regulate access to the internet. Their new approach requires the support of companies like Apple, which has obeyed an order from Beijing to remove VPN apps from its Chinese App store. Russia has a more open internet than China, but it's just passed a new law banning VPNs and other proxy servers. Beijing's approach is more subtle, but in both countries, the pattern is unmistakable: the powers that be are out to limit - and, in effect, decide - what you can or cannot see and do online. More from The Listening Post on: YouTube - http://aje.io/listeningpostYT Facebook - http://facebook.com/AJListeningPost Twitter - http://twitter.com/AJListeningPost Website - http://aljazeera.com/listeningpost

On the surface, the media in Uganda looks vibrant. Dozens of papers populate the newsstands, there are numerous news channels on TV, and some 240 radio stations on the dial. Ugandans can also get online with relative ease. However, many Ugandan journalists say that reporting the news can be risky. And a police presence is often not a reassurance, but a threat. In 2015, journalist Andrew Lwanga was assaulted by a senior policeman while reporting on a group of young Ugandans who were protesting against unemployment in the country. "Two leaders of the youth were arrested, I happened to be behind. I was filming the arrest ... Then he (the policeman) saw me, he got his cable [and] hit me. He hit me the second time. The third cane came in, I put the camera, he hit it, it was so strong he broke the LCD. The camera was in parts. So he hit me, then I blacked out," says Lwanga, who spent 27 days in the hospital. Overwhelming evidence of the assault on Lwanga by district police commander Joram Mwesigye got him suspended and charged. Two years later, in a case fraught with delays, irregularities and claims of witness intimidation, Mwesigye was found guilty of assault and fined a nominal $1,400. Lwanga says his medical bills have come in at around $60,000. Mwesigye is the only police officer to have been convicted of assaulting a journalist despite the alarming frequency with which it happens. More from The Listening Post on: YouTube - http://aje.io/listeningpostYT Facebook - http://facebook.com/AJListeningPost Twitter - http://twitter.com/AJListeningPost Website - http://aljazeera.com/listeningpost

As China and Russia attempt to limit the use of VPNs, we examine the repercussions for media freedom online. Plus, police vs the press in Uganda. The great firewall update: Clamping down on VPNs Russia and China have both recently taken action against the use of VPNs, virtual private networks. VPNs enable internet users in one country to surf the web as if they are in another. China has taken a selective approach to prohibiting VPN use - usually choosing to look away when people tunnelled through the "great firewall" that Beijing has put in place to regulate access to the internet. Their new approach requires the support of companies like Apple, which has obeyed an order to remove VPN apps from its Chinese App store. Russia has a more open internet than China, but it has just passed a new law targeting VPNs and other proxy servers. In both countries, the pattern is unmistakable: the powers that be are out to limit - and, in effect, decide - what you can or cannot see and do online. Contributors: Eva Galperin, director of cyber security, Electronic Frontier Foundation Sunday Yokubaitis, president, Golden Frog VPN Ying Chan, director, Journalism and Media Studies Centre, University of Hong Kong Malavika Jayaram, executive director, Digital Asia Hub On our radar: Turkish journalists both inside and outside the country bear the brunt of their government's media crackdown. Two journalists have been murdered in the space of two days on the island of Mindanao in the Philippines, in separate drive-by shootings. Al Jazeera's future in Israel is in jeopardy after the Israeli government announced its decision to shut down the network's Jerusalem bureau. Police vs the press in Uganda Among the many challenges Ugandan journalists face in order to do their jobs - political intimidation, harassment and bogus charges, for instance - police brutality has become a major concern of late. The early years of current President Yoweri Museveni's 31-year tenure saw the opening up of the country's media. In recent years, however, things have begun to change, with the government enacting a string of laws that have made the lives of journalists in Uganda increasingly difficult, and have had a chilling effect on reporting. The Listening Post's Nic Muirhead reports on when journalism in Uganda crosses paths with policing. Contributors: Andrew Lwanga, former journalist Robert Sempala, national coordinator, HRNJ-U Asan Kasingye, assistant inspector general of police Sarah Birete, Centre for Constitutional Governance - Subscribe to our channel: http://aje.io/AJSubscribe - Follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/AJEnglish - Find us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/aljazeera - Check our website: http://www.aljazeera.com/

As Kenyans head to the polls in what is expected to be a tightly contested election, we look at the media coverage around the incumbent president, Uhuru Kenyatta and his old rival Raila Odinga. When Kenyatta and Odinga faced each other back in 2013, it was thought the innovative use of social media was key for a Kenyatta win. However, this time round, Kenya is facing a different kind of phenomenon. The emergence of fake news stories circulating online, and the speed with which these stories are spreading, is causing alarm among the general public. "Kenyans are very active on WhatsApp, they're very active on Telegram, this has fuelled a lot of fake news and some of these conversations that start online, they influence our conversations offline," says Njoki Chege, a reporter at the Daily Nation. But it's not only fake news that has voters concerned. In the past few weeks, attention has focused on Kenyatta's reported relationship with Cambridge Analytica, an international data crunching firm. The company operates in the murky political margins and the people behind it have, to varying degrees, been credited with helping land Donald Trump in the White House and with helping the "Leave" side win Britain's Brexit referendum. Roughly one month before the election day, Kenyans began seeing a new video on their social media feeds. It's called "Raila 2020", and purports to provide a vision of what the country would look like, three years into a Raila Odinga presidency.

A news story that broke last month has divided Canadians and their media outlets. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's Liberal government announced it would settle a lawsuit filed by Omar Khadr, a former prisoner at Guantanamo Bay, by paying Khadr $8m. Khadr was transferred to a Canadian prison in 2012 and released by the courts in 2015. Canadians watching or reading conservative news outlets tended to come away outraged. Khadr, they were told, was a convicted "terrorist" - who had confessed, or so it seemed, to killing an American soldier in Afghanistan in a firefight between US forces and Taliban fighters, the details of which remain shrouded in the fog of war. Those exposed to a more liberal treatment of the story were informed Khadr was a child soldier, just 15 years old at the time of his alleged crime; that he had been held at Guantanamo illegally; that he had been tortured; that his confession, therefore, would not stand up in court and that he was more of a victim of the so-called "war on terror" than a participant. "Omar Khadr is just an example of a larger divergence in narrative that's taken place throughout the entire media, between left and right, on the issue of what causes terrorism," says journalist Jonathan Kay. More from The Listening Post on: YouTube - http://aje.io/listeningpostYT Facebook - http://facebook.com/AJListeningPost Twitter - http://twitter.com/AJListeningPost Website - http://aljazeera.com/listeningpost

On The Listening Post this week: Fake news stories, inaccurate polls and misleading ads in the run-up to Kenya's elections. Plus, Canada's media split over the case of Omar Khadr. Kenya elections: Media manipulations and misdemeanours As Kenyans head to the polls, we examine the coverage around the incumbent president, Uhuru Kenyatta and his old rival Raila Odinga. Four years ago, when Kenyatta and Odinga faced each other, it was thought the innovative use of social media was key for a Kenyatta win. However, this time round, Kenya is facing a different kind of phenomenon. The emergence of fake news stories circulating online and the speed with which these stories are spreading, is causing alarm among the general public. But it's not only fake news that has voters concerned. In the past few weeks, attention has focused on Kenyatta's reported relationship with Cambridge Analytica, an international data crunching firm with links to US President Donald Trump and reportedly the Brexit campaign in Britain. Which has Kenyans wondering, what is Cambridge Analytica up to this time? Contributors: Njoki Chege, reporter, Daily Nation Macharia Gaitho, political commentator, former editor of Daily Nation Robi Ochieng, academic Alphonce Shiundu, Kenya researcher, Africa Check On our radar: The online space for Web users in Russia and China is narrowing after authorities clamp down on the use of virtual private networks (VPNs). Media outlets operating out of Ramallah in the West Bank have had their officers raided and equipment seized by Israeli forces. After a tumultuous precedent-setting 11-day tenure, Anthony Scaramucci, the White House communications director, was fired. Omar Khadr: The case, the compensation and the media A news story broke last month in Canada that has divided both Canadians and their media outlets. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's Liberal government announced it would settle a lawsuit filed by Omar Khadr, a former prisoner at Guantanamo Bay, by paying Khadr $8m. Canadians watching or reading conservative news outlets tended to come away outraged. Khadr, they were told, was a convicted terrorist - who had confessed, or so it seemed, to killing an American soldier in Afghanistan. Those exposed to a more liberal treatment of the story were informed Khadr was a child soldier, just 15-years-old at the time of his alleged crime; that he had been held at Guantanamo illegally; that he had been tortured; that his confession, therefore, would not stand up in court and that he was more of a victim of the so-called "war on terror" than a participant. Contributors: Jeffrey Dvorkin, lecturer, University of Toronto Sandy Garossino, columnist, National Observer Jesse Brown, host, Canadaland podcast Jonathan Kay, journalist More from The Listening Post on: YouTube - http://aje.io/listeningpostYT Facebook - http://facebook.com/AJListeningPost Twitter - http://twitter.com/AJListeningPost Website - http://aljazeera.com/listeningpost