How Alex Jones And White Nationalist Podcasts Exploded Into Canadian Politics – By Hunter Walker (Talking Points Memo) / May 6, 2024
The far right group “Diagolon,” which has American allies and the attention of authorities on both sides of the border, is at the center of a fiery political debate.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his chief rival, Pierre Poilievre, the leader of the Conservative Party opposition, have spent the last week and change arguing about Alex Jones. The American conspiracy theorist and broadcaster’s path from his Texas studio to the center of the political debate up North cut straight through “Diagolon,” a fictional country created by a group of white nationalist podcasters in Canada.
The Diagolon empire stretches from Alaska to Florida through Canada’s Yukon territory and three westernmost provinces. While the men behind Diagolon insist it is just a stoner meme, authorities on both sides of the border have described the online movement as a violent terror threat. The recent debate over Jones was a vivid illustration of how the movement has gained prominence in Canadian politics and forged connections with the American far right.
Trudeau, who is struggling in the polls ahead of next year’s election, spent multiple days late last month accusing Poilievre of “engaging with members of Diagolon” and refusing to “condemn and reject the endorsement of Alex Jones.”
“This is what he should say,” Trudeau, who leads the country’s Liberal Party, said of Poilievre at an event in Quebec on April 26. “I reject categorically the endorsement and the support of Diagolon and of Alex Jones because Diagolon is a violent white nationalist organization and Alex Jones is a garbage conspiracy theorist. That’s all Pierre Poilievre would have to say, but he won’t say it and that tells you about the kinds of choices he’s making as a leader.”
