• Search
    • Sign up for our newsletter
    December 10, 2017
    SHARE
    CANADALAND
    #211 Inside a Right-Wing Meme Machine
    This Facebook group gets more engagement than the Toronto Star and the Globe and Mail combined.
    Jesse Brown
    Host & Publisher
    Kevin Sexton
    Producer

    After working in media, PR and politics, Jeff Ballingall understands the political power of Facebook. His non-profit Facebook page gets more engagement than the Globe and Mail and the Toronto Star combined.

    Spanning vicious attacks in rap form to sentimental posts about landmarks, Ontario Proud is in a meme war against Liberal Premier Kathleen Wynne. And they’re really effective.

    Ballingall joins us to talk about what he’s doing, why he’s doing it and who’s paying for it.

    Read more of our coverage of Ontario Proud here.

    More from this series
    BONUS: You Told Us How To Spend Our Money
    Someone thinks we should buy time on AM radio. Also, Alberta is Calling, quite literally, and they want a show.
    December 4, 2025
    #1272 How Roblox Turns Kids Into Gamblers
    “This idea of ‘gamblification,’ they're actually tracing features found in casino games that are being reproduced in games for little children.” - Sarah Grimes, professor in communication studies and the Wolf Chair in Scientific and Technological Literacy at McGill
    December 1, 2025
    #1268 Every OBGYN in this Canadian City has Resigned
    “ Our concern is that we will see maternal or fetal death as a result of a lack of access to care in Kamloops.” -Alix Dolson
    November 24, 2025
    #1264 Our Own Jewish-Arab Peace Talk
    “This has been the most challenging couple years of my life as a broadcaster, maybe as a person too.” -Jesse Brown
    November 17, 2025
    #1260 The Company Making Millions From Dying News
    We don't seem to question, at least not in the public discourse, what it means that the same investment firm is enmeshed with so many of our media companies. -Gemma Boothroyd
    November 10, 2025
    BONUS: What the Media Gets Wrong
    You’re an expert in something, so tell us what the media always gets wrong about your favourite thing.
    November 6, 2025
    #1256 How to Unsh*ttify Canada, with Cory Doctorow
    “Just stop having this vibes based pump and dump hype economy and start paying attention to foundations and to human thriving.” -Cory Doctorow
    November 3, 2025
    #1252 Vagrant Fugitive Hacker Warlord
    “ The problem with saying who's gonna rule the fucking world is that there's someone else already claiming that title and they don't like the competition.” -Ian Thornton
    October 27, 2025
    all podcasts arrow All Podcasts
    CANADALAND