A Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request has uncovered that the Biden administration’s Department of Homeland Security (DHS) exerted pressure on social media companies to suppress support for the Canadian Freedom Convoy. Internal emails from February 2022 show that the DHS’s Disinformation Governance Board was actively engaged in monitoring the convoy and worked closely with tech giants to limit what it deemed as “misinformation.”
The Freedom Convoy, which caused significant disruptions at U.S.-Canada border crossings such as the Ambassador Bridge between Detroit, Michigan, and Windsor, Ontario, began as a protest against vaccine mandates for cross-border truckers. The movement quickly expanded into a larger opposition to COVID-19 restrictions, garnering widespread support and raising millions of dollars.
In response, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau invoked the Emergencies Act, leading to the freezing of bank accounts associated with convoy participants. The protests also influenced several Canadian provinces to roll back restrictions, including vaccine passports, which had previously restricted the unvaccinated from accessing certain venues.
Key figures in the movement, especially those involved in protests at the Alberta border town of Coutts, faced legal challenges, with some being accused of plotting to murder police officers. However, these charges were later dropped. The FOIA documents raise critical questions about the extent of the Biden administration’s involvement in silencing dissent, even in the context of a foreign protest.
