Kinsella consulting firm worked to 'seek and destroy' Bernier's PPC party, documents say | CBC News - Jeff Yates, Kaleigh Rogers, Andrea Bellemare:
October 19, 2019 - "Warren Kinsella's Daisy Group consulting firm was behind a social media campaign to put the People's Party of Canada (PPC) on the defensive and keep leader Maxime Bernier out of the federal leaders' debates, according to documents provided to CBC News. The documents outline the work done by several employees of Daisy on behalf of an unnamed client. A source with knowledge of the project told CBC News that client was the Conservative Party of Canada....
"According to a source with knowledge of the project, who spoke to CBC News on condition they not be named, the objective of the plan, dubbed 'Project Cactus,' was to make the Conservative Party look more attractive to voters by highlighting PPC candidates' and supporters' xenophobic statements on social media.
"Repeatedly asked to confirm or explain his party's involvement during a campaign event in Toronto on Saturday, Conservative Leader Andrew Scheer refused to answer. 'As a rule, we never make comments on vendors that we may or may not have engaged with,' he said repeatedly....
"Documents seen by CBC News outline a plan to 'seek and destroy' the PPC and prevent Bernier from getting into the leaders' debates. The project was designed with three phases, according to the documents. The first involved research and branding in March and April. The second was identified as a 'launch phase' known as "seek and destroy," running from April 16 through to June 30.... The third phase, to run 'July 1st 2019 to TBD' was called the 'full steam ahead phase,' where the team would 'push Maxime Bernier and the PCC off their messages — forcing them, instead, to defend instances of hate speech and sympathy for racism.'
"Portions of a WhatsApp Chatroom set up by Daisy for Project Cactus and shared with CBC News show Daisy employees workshopping tweets critical of PPC candidates or supporters before asking Kinsella's approval. The tweets were then published on STAMP Out Hate, a Twitter account set up April 24 for an existing anti-racism nonprofit run by Daisy...
"In the documents seen by CBC News, drafted prior to the launch, STAMP is described as a screen for the project and its client. 'Daisy will create an arm's-length organization that cannot be linked to the client or any participating organization ... to shine a light on the prejudice and hate that is associated with the PPC,' a Daisy consultant writes....
"The STAMP Out Hate account lambasted the PPC, its candidates and its supporters right up until June 29, a day before new election rules regarding third-party advertisers came into effect. The account has since stopped attacking Bernier's party but has continued to tweet anti-racist messages. There is no indication whether any further work was done after June 29."
Read more: https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/project-cactus-maxime-bernier-1.5327555
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October 19, 2019 - "Warren Kinsella's Daisy Group consulting firm was behind a social media campaign to put the People's Party of Canada (PPC) on the defensive and keep leader Maxime Bernier out of the federal leaders' debates, according to documents provided to CBC News. The documents outline the work done by several employees of Daisy on behalf of an unnamed client. A source with knowledge of the project told CBC News that client was the Conservative Party of Canada....
"According to a source with knowledge of the project, who spoke to CBC News on condition they not be named, the objective of the plan, dubbed 'Project Cactus,' was to make the Conservative Party look more attractive to voters by highlighting PPC candidates' and supporters' xenophobic statements on social media.
"Repeatedly asked to confirm or explain his party's involvement during a campaign event in Toronto on Saturday, Conservative Leader Andrew Scheer refused to answer. 'As a rule, we never make comments on vendors that we may or may not have engaged with,' he said repeatedly....
"Documents seen by CBC News outline a plan to 'seek and destroy' the PPC and prevent Bernier from getting into the leaders' debates. The project was designed with three phases, according to the documents. The first involved research and branding in March and April. The second was identified as a 'launch phase' known as "seek and destroy," running from April 16 through to June 30.... The third phase, to run 'July 1st 2019 to TBD' was called the 'full steam ahead phase,' where the team would 'push Maxime Bernier and the PCC off their messages — forcing them, instead, to defend instances of hate speech and sympathy for racism.'
"Portions of a WhatsApp Chatroom set up by Daisy for Project Cactus and shared with CBC News show Daisy employees workshopping tweets critical of PPC candidates or supporters before asking Kinsella's approval. The tweets were then published on STAMP Out Hate, a Twitter account set up April 24 for an existing anti-racism nonprofit run by Daisy...
"In the documents seen by CBC News, drafted prior to the launch, STAMP is described as a screen for the project and its client. 'Daisy will create an arm's-length organization that cannot be linked to the client or any participating organization ... to shine a light on the prejudice and hate that is associated with the PPC,' a Daisy consultant writes....
"The STAMP Out Hate account lambasted the PPC, its candidates and its supporters right up until June 29, a day before new election rules regarding third-party advertisers came into effect. The account has since stopped attacking Bernier's party but has continued to tweet anti-racist messages. There is no indication whether any further work was done after June 29."
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