According to Politico, more of these protests are being planned-all over.
Similar "convoys" are now being organized across the U.S. A Telegram channel boasting almost 40,000 followers is sharing updates on regional protests planned in states from Alabama to Wyoming, based on POLITICO's review of social media activity.
The social media group provides regular updates on how to support the Canadian movement, including posts from more mainstream social media about the ongoing protests. It also acts as a rallying point for diverse communities who oppose official government vaccine policies. The goal, based on reams of social media messages, is to organize similar nationwide protests that will eventually descend on Washington, sometime in early March.
"Canada took eight months to plan their [protest,]" one of the Telegram channel organizers wrote on Feb. 5. "The U.S. is planning this all in weeks."
The mass anti-vaccine organizing is not limited to just North America.
Since early February, similar protests have also sprouted up across Europe — often using encrypted Telegram channels and country-specific hashtags under which supporters can rally.
Many of these Telegram channels have voiced their opposition to violent protests. But the groups also have seen an influx of more extreme content, including the posting and resharing of antisemitic and white supremacist material.
Far-right groups have taken advantage of the Covid-19 pandemic to tap into the anti-government rhetoric of the anti-vaccine movement, repeatedly posting claims in these social media channels in favor of their extremist beliefs, based on POLITICO's analysis of six months of social media activity.
Upcoming convoys are being planned in all 27 European Union countries. Organizers are also preparing to descend on Brussels — home to the EU's main institutions — in force on Feb. 14.
www.politico.com/news/2022/02/06/ottawa-truckers-convoy-galvanizes-far-right-worldwide-00006080
