A\n new newsprint and online publication is making the rounds at Ontario’s \nanti-lockdown protests. Billing itself as a source for information not \naffected by government or big tech censorship, after only one issue Druthers<\/em> has already made itself a home for fringe voices and ideas.<\/h4>\n\n\n\nBy Rayne \n\n Posted on \n\nDecember 18, 2020\n\n \n\n \n\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n
- <\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n
![\"New](\"https:\/\/ik.progressivenation.ca\/antihate\/tr:w-1200,ar-16-9,q-70\/pages\/223\/attachments\/original\/1608306011\/druthers_antihate.ca.jpeg?1608306011\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\nDruthers<\/em>,\n a new print paper devoted to Covid conspiracies, launched its first \nedition in Toronto on November 28. Claiming 25,000 hard copies in \ncirculation and an online edition, it is receiving a lot of buzz in \nanti-mask\/lockdown circles. <\/p>\n\n\n\nA second issue is planned for January 1, and editor Shawn Jason\n Laplante, who goes by Shawn Jason online, announced that a partnership \nis in the works with Ted Kuntz of Vaccine Choice Canada (VCC).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The status of this arrangement is unknown, and Laplante told \nthe Canadian Anti-Hate Network he was \u201cjust exploring some ideas,\u201d when \nasked for comment. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
He presented it to his supporters a little differently. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI just received a phone call from Ted Kuntz, president of \nVaccine Choice Canada and it looks like we are joining forces to make \nDruthers even bigger and deeper reaching!\u201d Laplante wrote in the private\n Druthers Facebook group on December 4. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
In the print edition, all of page two of the paper\u2019s first issue was devoted to a press release from VCC.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
While he told us there wouldn\u2019t need to be a newspaper without \nthe \u201crampant censorship\u201d seen in society, his goal is to reach national \ncirculation of half a million copies. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Current funding for the paper is coming from a mixture of \nsources, including crowdfunding, ad and merchandise sales. Laplante \nstates on his GoGetFunding<\/em> page that \n$3,000 is all that is needed to produce and distribute 25,000 copies, \nand that $5,000 would enable him to complete a publishing run of 50,000.\n For the upcoming January 1st edition, he has raised $1,680 as of \nDecember 6. Assuming all the supporters who advertised their business \nventures in the first edition paid for the space, he brought in \napproximately $1,125 through advertising sales. <\/p>\n\n\n\nLaplante, who appears to be based in Toronto, writes in his first editorial that Druthers\u2019<\/em>\n creators are \u201cexplorers of truth\u201d who \u201clove and care for all of \nhumanity.\u201d While this may be what he would like people to believe, it is\n not the case. <\/p>\n\n\n\nDave Bolton of Newmarket, who is working closely with Laplante on Druthers<\/em>, is the father of Mike Bolton, another frequent anti-lockdown protest attendee who describes himself<\/a> as a fascist Atomwaffen Division<\/em> supporter. <\/p>\n\n\n\nThe paper is being promoted by the anti-Muslim ACT! For Canada\u2019s<\/em><\/a> website, alongside white nationalist and former University of New Brunswick professor Ricardo Duchesne\u2019s Council of European Canadians<\/em>, QAnon content creator Amazing Polly, and The Epoch Times<\/em>, among others. <\/p>\n\n\n\nThe paper was also promoted by a user on the notorious white supremacist forum Stormfront<\/em>. RykerB posted a description of the project that appeared on other sites, including ACT! For Canada<\/em>:\n \u201cThis is exiting [sic] news! The first issue of this new newspaper is \ncomplete. 25,000 physical copies have been printed. Druthers thanks \neveryone for their love and support in bringing this to fruition. This \nweekend they begin distributing the hard copies freely around Toronto \n& neighbouring cities. In addition to the physical newspaper there \nare also digital, and online versions.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\nIn response, Laplante stated he was unaware of the promotion on Stormfront <\/em>and ACT! For Canada<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\u201cDruthers is being talked about everywhere by many people. I’m \nnot a hater at all. Quite the opposite,\u201d he said. \u201cHeck, I don’t even \nhate the globalists who I believe are committing massive crimes against \nhumanity right now.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In addition to the expected anti-vax, anti-mask rhetoric, and \narticles about how to organize a protest march and how to navigate \nrelationship challenges that may arise when one\u2019s significant other is \nnot on board with anti-mask beliefs, Druthers<\/em> also dips into the far right side of things by recommending \u201cwebsites of interest\u201d including The Corbett Report<\/em>, Rebel Media<\/em>, Dan Dicks\u2019 Press For Truth<\/em>, Lamont Daigle\u2019s The Line Canada<\/em>, and Hugs Over Masks<\/em>, among others. <\/p>\n\n\n\nAn article entitled \u201cPanopticon: COVID-19 and the reign of \nterror\u201d by self-described \u201cenvironmental journalist\u201d Guy Crittenden \nraises eyebrows with its heavy reliance on QAnon ideas and assorted \nconspiracies, comparison of global COVID responses to Nazi eugenics and \nthe Holocaust, while leaning on a thinly veiled antisemitic trope that \nglobalists are \u201cnot connected to spirit.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n
When asked about the content of the articles, he acknowledged \nthat \u201csome people will call some articles conspiracy theory,\u201d but said \nhis paper is about \u201cexploring truths rather than trying to be a voice of\n authority.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
At first glance, 48-year-old Shawn Jason Laplante appears to be\n an unlikely publisher of such content. Indeed, some of his friends even\n called him out for an October 4th Facebook post promoting his favorite \nYouTube channels including Wayne Peters\u2019 What\u2019s Up, Canada?, <\/em>Dan Dicks, and Amazing Polly, among others. <\/p>\n\n\n\nA self-described \u201cReality Alteration Specialist,\u201d Laplante, a \nhome renovator and carpenter by day, has poured his passions into his \nmany side projects that, until now, promoted love and peace while \nselling T-shirts and coffee mugs. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
His most successful venture was I Love You Pass It On, or \nILYPIO, an admittedly endearing effort to spread little love cards \naround the world to make people smile. He boasts that he got the cards \ninto over 800 communities worldwide, and his T-shirt made it into a \ncouple of music videos and was even promoted by Darius McCrary of Family Matters<\/em> fame. <\/p>\n\n\n\nIn an ironic twist, back in 2015 Laplante organized teams to \ngive out free hugs around Toronto, which almost seems like training for \nwhat was to come in 2020. However, at that point, it does not appear \nthat he was telling his friends to \u201ckeep an open mind\u201d when it comes to \nfar-right\/racist material. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
In June he asked for volunteers to take over the management of \nthe ILYPIO project, stating in the comments, \u201cI\u2019m feeling drawn to step \nup my activism game. Iloveyoupassiton <\/em>was\n always intended as a form of activism, but lately I am moving towards \nmore aggressive activism\u2026 As the powers that be have upped their game \nrecently, so must I.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\nThis new aggression is leading Laplante to boost people like \nantisemitic conspiracy theorist, David Icke on his social media and \nwithin the pages of Druthers. <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\nIcke is a one-time British football player known for his \npromulgation of the theory that most major world leaders are a race of \nreptilian and pedophilic aliens. Icke is also a decades-long \nsuperspreader of conspiracies and misinformation — he claims that \n\u201cRothschild Zionists\u201d control the world, that Jews financially supported\n Hitler during the Second World War, and that Jews were behind both the \n9\/11 terror attack and the 2008 recession. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Icke has also argued that schools should permit the study of Holocaust denial. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Recently, Icke was banned from YouTube after promoting the idea that COVID-19 was actually caused by 5G technology. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Laplante said in a comment that he was unaware of Icke being antisemitic. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Also, appearing in the pages is controversial Aylmer pastor \nHenry Hildebrandt, who is making news for his hardline anti-mask \nleadership of his congregation. Twenty years ago Hildebrandt courted \ncontroversy when he fought the Children\u2019s Aid Society to maintain the \nright to strike his children and counsel his congregants to carry out \nsimilar discipline in their families. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
While Laplante is careful to say he doesn\u2019t fully agree with \nsome of the individuals and organizations he highlights, at some point \nfellow travellers become fellow believers and it is very concerning \nwhere this new venture will lead him. In a brainstorming thread on \nFacebook, Laplante proposes targeting COVID testing centres with his \npropaganda while others suggest handing out flyers to parents outside \nschools at drop-off\/pick-up times. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI don’t propose people distribute newspapers at COVID testing \ncenters,\u201d he said when asked, \u201cbut offering up a flyer with some \ninformation about the tests isn’t a bad idea.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Laplante and Druthers<\/em> \nillustrate the dangers that come when New Age or anti-vax proponents mix\n with racists and other far right actors. A strong belief in seeing the \ngoodness in everyone coupled with an attitude that \u201cthe enemy of my \nenemy is my friend\u201d leads to an increasing suspension of common sense \nand moral judgement while pursuing the common goal of fighting covid \nsafety measures. <\/p>\n\n\n\nIt remains to be seen whether Druthers<\/em>\n will continue to grow or will fall flat despite the support and assumed\n injection of funds from VCC, but one thing is certain: Laplante has \nstrayed significantly from his proclamations of equal love and care and \nit may take a significant change for him to return to that worldview. <\/p>\n\n\n\nWith files from Elizabeth Simons and Kurt Phillips.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"New Covid Conspiracy Newspaper With Extremist Ties Eyes Canada-Wide Distribution A new newsprint and online publication is making the rounds at Ontario’s anti-lockdown protests. Billing itself as a source for information not affected by government or big tech censorship, after … Continue reading
<\/figure>\n\n\n\nDruthers<\/em>,\n a new print paper devoted to Covid conspiracies, launched its first \nedition in Toronto on November 28. Claiming 25,000 hard copies in \ncirculation and an online edition, it is receiving a lot of buzz in \nanti-mask\/lockdown circles. <\/p>\n\n\n\n A second issue is planned for January 1, and editor Shawn Jason\n Laplante, who goes by Shawn Jason online, announced that a partnership \nis in the works with Ted Kuntz of Vaccine Choice Canada (VCC).<\/p>\n\n\n\n The status of this arrangement is unknown, and Laplante told \nthe Canadian Anti-Hate Network he was \u201cjust exploring some ideas,\u201d when \nasked for comment. <\/p>\n\n\n\n He presented it to his supporters a little differently. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI just received a phone call from Ted Kuntz, president of \nVaccine Choice Canada and it looks like we are joining forces to make \nDruthers even bigger and deeper reaching!\u201d Laplante wrote in the private\n Druthers Facebook group on December 4. <\/p>\n\n\n\n In the print edition, all of page two of the paper\u2019s first issue was devoted to a press release from VCC.<\/p>\n\n\n\n While he told us there wouldn\u2019t need to be a newspaper without \nthe \u201crampant censorship\u201d seen in society, his goal is to reach national \ncirculation of half a million copies. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Current funding for the paper is coming from a mixture of \nsources, including crowdfunding, ad and merchandise sales. Laplante \nstates on his GoGetFunding<\/em> page that \n$3,000 is all that is needed to produce and distribute 25,000 copies, \nand that $5,000 would enable him to complete a publishing run of 50,000.\n For the upcoming January 1st edition, he has raised $1,680 as of \nDecember 6. Assuming all the supporters who advertised their business \nventures in the first edition paid for the space, he brought in \napproximately $1,125 through advertising sales. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Laplante, who appears to be based in Toronto, writes in his first editorial that Druthers\u2019<\/em>\n creators are \u201cexplorers of truth\u201d who \u201clove and care for all of \nhumanity.\u201d While this may be what he would like people to believe, it is\n not the case. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Dave Bolton of Newmarket, who is working closely with Laplante on Druthers<\/em>, is the father of Mike Bolton, another frequent anti-lockdown protest attendee who describes himself<\/a> as a fascist Atomwaffen Division<\/em> supporter. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The paper is being promoted by the anti-Muslim ACT! For Canada\u2019s<\/em><\/a> website, alongside white nationalist and former University of New Brunswick professor Ricardo Duchesne\u2019s Council of European Canadians<\/em>, QAnon content creator Amazing Polly, and The Epoch Times<\/em>, among others. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The paper was also promoted by a user on the notorious white supremacist forum Stormfront<\/em>. RykerB posted a description of the project that appeared on other sites, including ACT! For Canada<\/em>:\n \u201cThis is exiting [sic] news! The first issue of this new newspaper is \ncomplete. 25,000 physical copies have been printed. Druthers thanks \neveryone for their love and support in bringing this to fruition. This \nweekend they begin distributing the hard copies freely around Toronto \n& neighbouring cities. In addition to the physical newspaper there \nare also digital, and online versions.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n In response, Laplante stated he was unaware of the promotion on Stormfront <\/em>and ACT! For Canada<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cDruthers is being talked about everywhere by many people. I’m \nnot a hater at all. Quite the opposite,\u201d he said. \u201cHeck, I don’t even \nhate the globalists who I believe are committing massive crimes against \nhumanity right now.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n In addition to the expected anti-vax, anti-mask rhetoric, and \narticles about how to organize a protest march and how to navigate \nrelationship challenges that may arise when one\u2019s significant other is \nnot on board with anti-mask beliefs, Druthers<\/em> also dips into the far right side of things by recommending \u201cwebsites of interest\u201d including The Corbett Report<\/em>, Rebel Media<\/em>, Dan Dicks\u2019 Press For Truth<\/em>, Lamont Daigle\u2019s The Line Canada<\/em>, and Hugs Over Masks<\/em>, among others. <\/p>\n\n\n\n An article entitled \u201cPanopticon: COVID-19 and the reign of \nterror\u201d by self-described \u201cenvironmental journalist\u201d Guy Crittenden \nraises eyebrows with its heavy reliance on QAnon ideas and assorted \nconspiracies, comparison of global COVID responses to Nazi eugenics and \nthe Holocaust, while leaning on a thinly veiled antisemitic trope that \nglobalists are \u201cnot connected to spirit.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n When asked about the content of the articles, he acknowledged \nthat \u201csome people will call some articles conspiracy theory,\u201d but said \nhis paper is about \u201cexploring truths rather than trying to be a voice of\n authority.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n At first glance, 48-year-old Shawn Jason Laplante appears to be\n an unlikely publisher of such content. Indeed, some of his friends even\n called him out for an October 4th Facebook post promoting his favorite \nYouTube channels including Wayne Peters\u2019 What\u2019s Up, Canada?, <\/em>Dan Dicks, and Amazing Polly, among others. <\/p>\n\n\n\n A self-described \u201cReality Alteration Specialist,\u201d Laplante, a \nhome renovator and carpenter by day, has poured his passions into his \nmany side projects that, until now, promoted love and peace while \nselling T-shirts and coffee mugs. <\/p>\n\n\n\n His most successful venture was I Love You Pass It On, or \nILYPIO, an admittedly endearing effort to spread little love cards \naround the world to make people smile. He boasts that he got the cards \ninto over 800 communities worldwide, and his T-shirt made it into a \ncouple of music videos and was even promoted by Darius McCrary of Family Matters<\/em> fame. <\/p>\n\n\n\n In an ironic twist, back in 2015 Laplante organized teams to \ngive out free hugs around Toronto, which almost seems like training for \nwhat was to come in 2020. However, at that point, it does not appear \nthat he was telling his friends to \u201ckeep an open mind\u201d when it comes to \nfar-right\/racist material. <\/p>\n\n\n\n In June he asked for volunteers to take over the management of \nthe ILYPIO project, stating in the comments, \u201cI\u2019m feeling drawn to step \nup my activism game. Iloveyoupassiton <\/em>was\n always intended as a form of activism, but lately I am moving towards \nmore aggressive activism\u2026 As the powers that be have upped their game \nrecently, so must I.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n This new aggression is leading Laplante to boost people like \nantisemitic conspiracy theorist, David Icke on his social media and \nwithin the pages of Druthers. <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Icke is a one-time British football player known for his \npromulgation of the theory that most major world leaders are a race of \nreptilian and pedophilic aliens. Icke is also a decades-long \nsuperspreader of conspiracies and misinformation — he claims that \n\u201cRothschild Zionists\u201d control the world, that Jews financially supported\n Hitler during the Second World War, and that Jews were behind both the \n9\/11 terror attack and the 2008 recession. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Icke has also argued that schools should permit the study of Holocaust denial. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Recently, Icke was banned from YouTube after promoting the idea that COVID-19 was actually caused by 5G technology. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Laplante said in a comment that he was unaware of Icke being antisemitic. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Also, appearing in the pages is controversial Aylmer pastor \nHenry Hildebrandt, who is making news for his hardline anti-mask \nleadership of his congregation. Twenty years ago Hildebrandt courted \ncontroversy when he fought the Children\u2019s Aid Society to maintain the \nright to strike his children and counsel his congregants to carry out \nsimilar discipline in their families. <\/p>\n\n\n\n While Laplante is careful to say he doesn\u2019t fully agree with \nsome of the individuals and organizations he highlights, at some point \nfellow travellers become fellow believers and it is very concerning \nwhere this new venture will lead him. In a brainstorming thread on \nFacebook, Laplante proposes targeting COVID testing centres with his \npropaganda while others suggest handing out flyers to parents outside \nschools at drop-off\/pick-up times. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI don’t propose people distribute newspapers at COVID testing \ncenters,\u201d he said when asked, \u201cbut offering up a flyer with some \ninformation about the tests isn’t a bad idea.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Laplante and Druthers<\/em> \nillustrate the dangers that come when New Age or anti-vax proponents mix\n with racists and other far right actors. A strong belief in seeing the \ngoodness in everyone coupled with an attitude that \u201cthe enemy of my \nenemy is my friend\u201d leads to an increasing suspension of common sense \nand moral judgement while pursuing the common goal of fighting covid \nsafety measures. <\/p>\n\n\n\n It remains to be seen whether Druthers<\/em>\n will continue to grow or will fall flat despite the support and assumed\n injection of funds from VCC, but one thing is certain: Laplante has \nstrayed significantly from his proclamations of equal love and care and \nit may take a significant change for him to return to that worldview. <\/p>\n\n\n\n With files from Elizabeth Simons and Kurt Phillips.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" New Covid Conspiracy Newspaper With Extremist Ties Eyes Canada-Wide Distribution A new newsprint and online publication is making the rounds at Ontario’s anti-lockdown protests. Billing itself as a source for information not affected by government or big tech censorship, after … Continue reading