In an ostensible effort to apply pressure to politicians and decision-makers, a consistent message repeated by pro-Palestinian (anti-Israel) activists in recent months is that their cause enjoys widespread popular support among the Canadian population.

Little evidence exists to support this contention, and in fact, these demonstrations have consistently shrunk since the Hamas massacres of October 7, 2023, leading some to twist themselves into rhetorical pretzels in an attempt to explain this shift away from their cause.

Despite the dramatic decline in sizes of pro-Palestinian demonstrations, the organizers have a major asset in their corner: much of the news media reliably, reflexively even, providing their protests with coverage, almost always sympathetic and devoid of context.

A November 29 report by CTV News video journalist Mike Walker entitled: “Rally calls for ceasefire in Israel-Hamas conflict,” was a perfect example of this journalistic tendency.

Click below to watch the full segment:

That day, a major planned anti-Israel protest in downtown Toronto, organized by a motley

assortment of groups ranging from pro-Palestinian to communist, coinciding with the ‘International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People,’ attracted – according to organizers’ own likely embellished figures – barely one thousand people.

With the population of the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) estimated to be some seven million people, that equates to 0.014 percent of the population showing up.

While that may merit coverage for CTV News, the issues with Walker’s report went far deeper.

In the broadcast, Walker interviewed Omar Mahmoud, a representative from Palestinian Youth Movement (PYM), a baldly pro-terrorist group that, in the wake of Hamas’ October 7, 2023 massacres, organized a public celebration in Mississauga. But instead of showing viewers the real and ugly face of PYM as a glorifier of Islamic terrorism, it was presented simply as one of the organizers behind the event.

By ignoring PYM’s sordid history, Walker’s framing of the demonstration as one calling for a ceasefire and “in support of the Palestinian people” rang somewhat hollow. It is clear that PYM is simply pro-Hamas, not pro-peace.

In his recorded comments, Mahmoud made predictable allegations, accusing Israel of “genocide” and making the claim that “what we’ve seen over the last year is that the solidarity with the Palestinian people…has only grown.”

But if his rally’s rather underwhelming attendance is any indication, that pronouncement appears reminiscent of Muhammad Saeed al-Sahhaf, Iraq’s minister of foreign affairs under Saddam Hussein. Nicknamed Baghdad Bob, al-Sahhaf declared victory was imminent, even as his regime was rapidly crumbling. His cartoonish inability to see loss was lampooned by observers around the world.

Walker’s report is just the latest in countless instances of Canadian news media outlets uncritically providing a platform to every anti-Israel protest, demonstration or rally, some of which have been organized by paid protesters.

Many of these protests for the past 14 months have been characterized by violence, assault, harassment, destruction of private property, explicit anti-Jewish hate speech and overt support for Islamic terrorism. However, for just as long, these demonstrations have been sanitized by reporters who have ignored, downplayed and whitewashed the heinous nature of them, instead presenting them as pro-ceasefire gatherings, as Walker did.

The November 29 CTV News report on a pro-Palestinian gathering in downtown Toronto both helped embellish a declining cause, and whitewash the hateful views of its organizers.