The Post Millennial

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The Post Millennial or occasionally PM is a Canadian conservative news and opinion website^[1] founded by Matthew Azrieli and Ali S. Taghva in 2017.^[2] Both Azrieli and Taghva admit to not having any training or expertise in journalism (with Azrieli having only having a degree in songwriting), founding the website out of dismay at the lack of "right-leaning" material in Canadian media^[3] and with the help of a "seed investment" from his Real Estate managing family which is listed as the 13^th richest in the country.^[4] Naturally, Azrieli describes the website's ideology as opposed to "government overreach."^[5] The pair also were involved in the now-defunct conservative website The Nectarine.^[6] Ali S. Taghva left the website quietly over the summer of 2020.^[7]

Despite repeated heckling of the institution, most of the content on The Post Millennial consists of rewritten stories from the CBC to reflect conservative viewpoints with very little original, on-the-ground reporting. For example, a press briefing in Ontario (available online from multiple outlets including the government itself) might be "covered" by an author using a "Brooklyn, New York" byline flattering the current conservative premier.^[8] Recently the website has become notable as the long-term roost of Andy Ngo following his collaboration with far-right groups in Portland^[9] and notorious far right misinformation troll Ian Miles Cheong. In 2019 The Post Millennial was planning on opening a "six figure broadcast studio" and had more Facebook engagement than Rebel Media.^[10] Right Wing Watch found that most analysis indicates the vast majority of the traffic is coming from the United States.^[11] The Post Millennal has also never applied for membership to the Canadian regulatory body for news media, the National NewsMedia Council, despite receiving numerous complaints about the outlet spreading misinformation.^[12]

Various Notable Editors and Their Adventures

Off to a great Start!

Despite frequently using Gamergate-like appeals to the failure of "journalistic ethics" of others, The Post Millennial was found in 2019 to have plagiarized its ethics policy from The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Globe and Mail and The Toronto Star. The Editor in Chief at the time (with no journalistic accreditation) denied that doing so was wrong.^[13]

Oops! We Left for Vacation and Published a Neo-Nazi!

About a year after its founding, The Post Millennial published a column^[14] by notoriously bigoted National Post columnist Barbara Kay attacking trans rights by comparing them with totalitarianism and the Medieval Church featuring a rather notorious fake quote from Voltaire which was first coined by open neo-Nazi Kevin Alfred Strom. Kay doubled down to agree with the quotation when confronted by saying "The words of the quotation in fact make very good sense, that the mind who thought it up was corrupted by hatred to the point that he was delusionary ^[sic] about who ^[sic] ‘you cannot criticize’ is not my fault.”^[15] The managing editors claimed that, while they were informed of the mistake, they failed to remove the error or the column due to leaving on vacation that day.^[16]

Cosmin Dzsurdzsa

Cosmin Dzsurdzsa was one of the most prolific contributors at The Post Millennial from 2017 to 2019. In addition to lying about his involvement at the Oxford English Dictionary (which had no record of his employment) Dzsurdzsa had previously worked as a "Creative Director and correspondent" at Free Bird Media, which multiple news organizations have characterized as an alt-right outlet^[17]^[18] at a time when Free Bird was promoting Richard Spencer and Faith Goldy. Founder and Editor-in-Chief Matthew Azrieli's response to Dzsurdzsa's history was first to accuse National Observer reporters inquiring about Dzsurdzsa's connections of "claims of guilt by association that are spurious at best and defamatory at worst" with Dzsurdzsa denying any connections on Twitter.^[19] However The Post Millennial claimed to have parted ways with Dzsurdzsa in September 2019 due to an investigation of the allegations,^[20] despite his daily posts appeared on the website until the end of October of that year,^[21] following the exposure of further information on the Post Millennial's involvement in foreign disinformation operations by an anti-racist blog. ^[22] Dzsurdzsa's wife Lindsey Shepherd immediately demanded a retraction following the doxxing of the blog owner. ^[23]

Anna Slatz

As with Andy Ngo, The Post Millennial has developed a reputation for hiring staff who have been recently disgraced for association with, or promotion of, far-right sources and fired from more respectable outlets. Previous to her work at The Post Millennial, contributor Anna Slatz (then publishing as Anna De Luca) had gained notoriety in 2018 for uncritically publishing a Letter to the Editor from an openly Neo-Nazi activist named Michael Thurlow for the student paper of the University of New Brunswick.^[24] The letter praised Canada's notoriously abusive Residential School system and insisted Jews were conniving and seeking to control the world.^[25] When pressed by outlets about whether featuring far right sources uncritically did not abrogate journalistic responsibility,^[26] despite multiple professional journalist professors insisting that it was,^[27] Slatz doubled down insisting her work was aimed towards de-polarization and represented real journalistic integrity.^[28] Slatz never apologized, but was removed by the Board of Directors of the paper after a wave of resignations,^[29] shortly thereafter being picked up by The Post Millennial.

From time to time, Slatz attempts to blow Gamergate embers back into life in the most exploitative ways possible, strongly insinuating a connection between Zoe Quinn and Alec Holowka's suicide.^[30]

In the run-up to Remembrance Day 2019, a failed conservative candidate for parliament in Manitoba named Cyara Bird claimed on Twitter that her cousin had been suspended for refusing to wear a rainbow poppy her school had mandated as opposed to the traditional red and black lapel poppy.^[31] Slatz reported the allegations uncritically without a word from the school, or evidence beyond Bird's statements^[32] and The Post Millennial added a photo of an unrelated rainbow poppy made by an unrelated hobby pin maker in the United Kingdom, adding an air of realism to the story.^[33] Despite many on social media and in the press raising skepticism about rainbow lapel poppies existing at all,^[34] both the school and the pin maker were subjected to death threats and abuse over the incident.^[35] It was eventually revealed (to the surprise of almost nobody) that "rainbow poppies" did not exist at all and the student had been suspended for hanging up posters without permission, opposing any recognition of LGBT people in poppies.^[36] Cyara deleted her tweets and apologized for the confusion, but Slatz insisted that she had made no mistakes in reporting despite having set off a large-scale homophobic hoax.^[37]

Andy Ngo

Andy Ngo was hired as an editor in 2019 immediately after being caught collaborating with white nationalist activist groups and being fired from Quillette.^[38]

Angelo Isidorou

In 2020, campus activist Angelo Isidorou joined as an editor. Isidorou had previously shown his chops in whitewashing white nationalists by inviting Andy Ngo to the University of British Columbia long after Ngo's collaboration with Patriot Prayer was revealed and fabricating threats against the event by Antifa.^[39] Isidorou had also served as campaign executive for the notoriously racist People's Party of Canada before quitting in the most self-congratulatory way possible long after it had been made clear how many of the party's candidates were far right and white nationalist figures.^[40]

As a principled critic of identity politics and supporter of "Free Speech" Isidorou began his work with The Post Millennial with a "review" of White Fragility that begins "As a Greek I...." and ending by encouraging his readers not to read the book. Engagement!

The Good?

A few writers use a semi-mysterious conservative outlet called Blacklock's Reporter as a source including investigative material that is behind one of the toughest paywalls in the business.^[41]

The Current Stable

At the moment The Post Millennial shares writing staff with Quillette,^[42] Rebel Media, ^[43] and The Federalist,^[44] with a recent UK hire from the notoriously racist UK magazine The Spectator.^[45] Several notorious online reactionaries have submitted opinion columns including Blaire White,^[46] Ian Miles Cheong,^[47] and Lindsay Shepherd.^[48] It might be more helpful to see The Post Millennial as less of an independent news site as forming along with other sites a parallel environment where conservative ideology is flatteringly depicted and shown as heroically needed.

The Post Millennial has been a significant outlet for Jordan Peterson and his family. Jordan Peterson himself frequently posts material from the site to Twitter and Mikhaila Peterson has published "exclusive" material on the site in the past (which largely regurgitated material already published to YouTube).^[49] Peterson's website "Thinkspot" has built a significant connection with The Post Millennial and their staff have partnered for online events.^[50]

During the Conservative leadership election The Post Millennial largely supported Erin O'Toole against the frontrunner Peter Mackay at one point publishing unflattering polling that caused Peter Mackay to threaten to sue for libel. The Post Millennial affirmed they would not retract the piece in question.^[51] Several conservative figures have written op eds for The Post Millennial including sitting MPs Jeremy Patzer ^[52] and ex-cabinet minister Pierre Poilievre.^[53] Several conservative campaign staffers have also been notable contributors.^[54]

External links

References

[1] ttps://www.canadalandshow.com/guide-to-new-popular-populist-political-media/

[2] ttps://www.thesuburban.com/life/lifestyles/the-post-millennial-a-growing-right-of-centre-voice-in-the-media-landscape/article_64d49340-246b-5d92-b1e7-2d64c641437a.html

[3] ttps://www.thesuburban.com/life/lifestyles/the-post-millennial-a-growing-right-of-centre-voice-in-the-media-landscape/article_64d49340-246b-5d92-b1e7-2d64c641437a.html

[4] ttps://www.canadalandshow.com/guide-to-new-popular-populist-political-media/

[5] ttps://thepostmillennial.com/page/about-us

[6] ttps://www.canadalandshow.com/guide-to-new-popular-populist-political-media/

[7] ttps://www.rightwingwatch.org/post/the-post-millennial-canadian-rage-bait-far-right-america/

[8] ttps://thepostmillennial.com/breaking-doug-ford-speaks-out-on-greedy-landlords-tells-them-to-have-a-heart

[9] ttps://www.thedailybeast.com/andy-ngo-who-became-a-right-wing-star-leaves-quillette-after-incriminating-video-appears

[10] ttps://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/the-post-millennial-journalism-conservative-advocacy-1.5191593

[11] ttps://www.rightwingwatch.org/post/the-post-millennial-canadian-rage-bait-far-right-america/

[12] ttps://www.rightwingwatch.org/post/the-post-millennial-canadian-rage-bait-far-right-america/

[13] ttps://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/the-post-millennial-journalism-conservative-advocacy-1.5191593

[14] ttps://web.archive.org/web/20180708182042/https://www.thepostmillennial.com/bill-c-16-or-the-transgender-identity-bill-is-an-act-of-velvet-totalitarianism/

[15] ttps://www.canadalandshow.com/barbara-kay-quotes-neo-nazi-to-justify-attack-on-trans-identity/

[16] ttps://www.canadalandshow.com/barbara-kay-quotes-neo-nazi-to-justify-attack-on-trans-identity/

[17] ttps://pressprogress.ca/ontario-pc-candidate-promoted-alt-right-website-linked-to-hate-figures-at-young-conservative-event/

[18] ttps://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/hamilton/skelly-hat-1.4682146

[19] ttps://www.nationalobserver.com/2019/08/22/news/he-used-work-site-promoted-racists-now-he-edits-canadian-news-outlet

[20] ttps://www.nationalobserver.com/2019/08/22/news/he-used-work-site-promoted-racists-now-he-edits-canadian-news-outlet

[21] ttps://thepostmillennial.com/author/cosmindzsurdzsa

[22] ttp://anti-racistcanada.blogspot.com/2019/10/guest-article-nazis-russians-and-tories.html

[23] ttps://twitter.com/NewWorldHominin/status/1215361170720337922

[24] ttp://anti-racistcanada.blogspot.com/2019/08/anna-slatz-of-post-millennial-once-ran.html

[25] ttps://www.buzzfeed.com/ishmaeldaro/the-baron-nsclrp

[26] ttps://www.canadalandshow.com/unb-baron-laughs-off-critics-of-nazi-op-ed/

[27] ttps://www.buzzfeed.com/ishmaeldaro/the-baron-nsclrp

[28] ttps://www.canadalandshow.com/unb-baron-laughs-off-critics-of-nazi-op-ed/

[29] ttps://www.canadalandshow.com/unb-baron-laughs-off-critics-of-nazi-op-ed/

[30] ttps://thepostmillennial.com/exclusive-zoe-quinns-allegations-are-falling-apart

[31] ttps://nationalpost.com/news/canada/hate-speech-how-a-rainbow-poppy-from-the-u-k-led-to-a-student-suspension-in-manitoba

[32] ttps://nationalpost.com/news/canada/hate-speech-how-a-rainbow-poppy-from-the-u-k-led-to-a-student-suspension-in-manitoba

[33] ttps://nationalpost.com/news/canada/hate-speech-how-a-rainbow-poppy-from-the-u-k-led-to-a-student-suspension-in-manitoba

[34] ttps://www.citynews1130.com/2019/11/08/upset-about-the-rainbow-poppy-youve-been-duped-by-fake-news/

[35] ttps://nationalpost.com/news/canada/hate-speech-how-a-rainbow-poppy-from-the-u-k-led-to-a-student-suspension-in-manitoba

[36] ttps://www.huffingtonpost.ca/entry/rainbow-poppies-canada_ca_5dc2f900e4b0f5dcf8ff01f1

[37] ttps://twitter.com/YesThatAnna/status/1193665238073253889

[38] ttps://www.thedailybeast.com/andy-ngo-who-became-a-right-wing-star-leaves-quillette-after-incriminating-video-appears

[39] ttps://anti-racistcanada.blogspot.com/2020/01/ubc-cancels-andy-ngo-event-global.html

[40] ttps://www.cbc.ca/radio/day6/abandoning-the-people-s-party-drake-gets-dragged-postmedia-s-politics-milkshaking-high-cuisine-and-more-1.5147118/the-nastier-side-of-populism-why-founding-organizers-are-quitting-maxime-bernier-s-new-party-1.5147163

[41] ttps://www.canadalandshow.com/blacklocks-reporter-settles-lawsuit-against-own-freelancer/

[42] Libby Emmons, Anna Slatz

[43] Anna Slatz

[44] Libby Emmons, Chad Felix Green, Roberto Wakerell-Cruz

[45] ttps://thepostmillennial.com/author/nicoj

[46] ttps://thepostmillennial.com/author/blairewhite

[47] ttps://thepostmillennial.com/author/ianm

[48] ttps://thepostmillennial.com/author/lindsay-shepherd

[49] ttps://thepostmillennial.com/author/mikhailapeterson

[50] ttps://www.thinkspot.com/event_signup?event=wJulq8

[51] ttps://www.theglobeandmail.com/politics/article-peter-mackay-issues-libel-notice-over-the-post-millennial-article-on/

[52] ttps://thepostmillennial.com/author/jeremy-patzer

[53] ttps://thepostmillennial.com/author/pierre-poilievre

[54] ttps://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/the-post-millennial-journalism-conservative-advocacy-1.5191593

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