Censorship and cancel culture

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Winnipeg vigil for Kirk draws 2,000 mourners

Nicole Buffie 3 minute read Preview

Winnipeg vigil for Kirk draws 2,000 mourners

Nicole Buffie 3 minute read Tuesday, Sep. 16, 2025

About 2,000 people held a vigil Tuesday evening to remember American conservative activist Charlie Kirk, who was shot to death last week as he spoke to university students in Utah.

They gathered at the steps of the Manitoba legislature, holding lit candles and posters bearing Kirk’s name and photo. Several attendees wore T-shirts with the slogan “We are all Charlie Kirk now.”

Several speakers discussed Kirk and his imprint on U.S. politics; some recited Bible verses, including Collin Watson, who opened the night with a prayer and referred to Kirk as a martyr.

“We should all use Charlie as an example as how to discuss things with people we disagree with,” he told the crowd.

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Tuesday, Sep. 16, 2025

JOHN WOODS / FREE PRESS
Peoplemgather for a vigil in honour of Charlie Kirk at the Manitoba Legilature, Tuesday, September 16, 2025.

Reporter: ?
JOHN WOODS / FREE PRESS Peoplemgather for a vigil in honour of Charlie Kirk at the Manitoba Legilature, Tuesday, September 16, 2025. Reporter: ?
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New documentary revisits Lilith Fair, gives it the overdue kudos it deserves

Jen Zoratti 8 minute read Preview
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New documentary revisits Lilith Fair, gives it the overdue kudos it deserves

Jen Zoratti 8 minute read Monday, Sep. 15, 2025

In the opening moments of Lilith Fair: Building a Mystery, a new documentary about the pioneering all-women touring festival co-founded by Canadian icon Sarah McLachlan in the late 1990s, there’s a series of TikTok videos fronted by gen Z women expressing wonder and astonishment that something like that ever even existed.

“There was an all-female music festival from 1997 to 1999 — and I am shook to my core,” one woman says.

Ally Pankiw, the film’s director, is not surprised younger generations have never heard of Lilith Fair.

“It was not celebrated for how massive it was,” says the Canadian film/TV writer and director (Feel Good, Shrill). “It was so commercially successful. It changed so many artists’ trajectories and careers. It raised so much money for charity.

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Monday, Sep. 15, 2025

Crystal Heald Photo

Lilith Fair finale show in 1998, feauring Diana Krall, Sarah McLachlan, Angelique Kidjo, Lisa Loeb, Sam Bettens, Tara Maclean
Crystal Heald Photo Lilith Fair finale show in 1998, feauring Diana Krall, Sarah McLachlan, Angelique Kidjo, Lisa Loeb, Sam Bettens, Tara Maclean

Kinew’s tolerance for Fontaine’s antics could set dangerous precedent for others in cabinet

Dan Lett 5 minute read Preview

Kinew’s tolerance for Fontaine’s antics could set dangerous precedent for others in cabinet

Dan Lett 5 minute read Monday, Sep. 15, 2025

What exactly does someone have to do to get fired from Premier Wab Kinew’s cabinet?

That question was left hanging in the air following the latest missteps by Families Minister Nahanni Fontaine, who drew a rebuke from Kinew and public criticism for sharing a social media post criticizing far-right activist Charlie Kirk following his assassination in Utah last week.

Kinew said he spoke directly with Fontaine and asked her to apologize. For now, she will remain in cabinet.

“It would be too easy to show her the door,” Kinew said. “It is a much harder task to say we’re going to work through this together and I am going to try to help you understand why we need to bring people together and not divide people at this time.”

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Monday, Sep. 15, 2025

MIKAELA MACKENZIE / FREE PRESS FILES

Families Minister Nahanni Fontaine drew a rebuke from Premier Wab Kinew and public criticism for sharing a social media post criticizing far-right activist Charlie Kirk following his assassination in Utah last week.
MIKAELA MACKENZIE / FREE PRESS FILES Families Minister Nahanni Fontaine drew a rebuke from Premier Wab Kinew and public criticism for sharing a social media post criticizing far-right activist Charlie Kirk following his assassination in Utah last week.
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Equatorial Guinea enforces yearlong internet outage for island that protested construction company

Ope Adetayo, The Associated Press 6 minute read Preview
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Equatorial Guinea enforces yearlong internet outage for island that protested construction company

Ope Adetayo, The Associated Press 6 minute read Thursday, Oct. 16, 2025

LAGOS, Nigeria (AP) — When residents of Equatorial Guinea's Annobón island wrote to the government in Malabo in July last year complaining about the dynamite explosions by a Moroccan construction company, they didn't expect the swift end to their internet access.

Dozens of the signatories and residents were imprisoned for nearly a year, while internet access to the small island has been cut off since then, according to several residents and rights groups.

Local residents interviewed by The Associated Press left the island in the past months, citing fear for their lives and the difficulty of life without internet.

Banking services have shut down, hospital services for emergencies have been brought to a halt and residents say they rack up phone bills they can't afford because cellphone calls are the only way to communicate.

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Thursday, Oct. 16, 2025

A man paddles a canoe in Annobón Island, Equatorial Guinea, Sunday, June 12, 2022. (AP Photo)
A man paddles a canoe in Annobón Island, Equatorial Guinea, Sunday, June 12, 2022. (AP Photo)

‘Safety is our ultimate goal’: Steinbach cancels annual Pride event

Chris Kitching 6 minute read Preview

‘Safety is our ultimate goal’: Steinbach cancels annual Pride event

Chris Kitching 6 minute read Sunday, Sep. 14, 2025

Saturday’s annual Pride rally and march in Steinbach was called off after multiple threats prompted concerns about the safety of attendees, an organizer told the Free Press.

Chris Plett, president of Steinbach Pride, declined to disclose the nature of the threats and where they were made, but said they were reported to RCMP when organizers became aware of them Friday.

“One of the (event’s) entertainers contacted us and requested to remove themselves from the program because they heard some credible information about some threats that could be happening at the event,” Plett said. “It wasn’t clear if it was going to be a physical situation or if it was just going to be a disturbance. The unknowns were too great, and safety is our ultimate goal.”

Plett said the threats were reactive to Wednesday’s assassination of U.S. conservative activist Charlie Kirk during an event at a Utah university.

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Sunday, Sep. 14, 2025

MIKE SUDOMA / FREE PRESS FILES

Saturday’s annual Pride rally and march in Steinbach was called off after multiple threats prompted concerns about the safety of attendees.
MIKE SUDOMA / FREE PRESS FILES Saturday’s annual Pride rally and march in Steinbach was called off after multiple threats prompted concerns about the safety of attendees.
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A Lebanese dancer defies extremist threats and social norms with his sold-out performances

Malak Harb And Kareem Chehayeb, The Associated Press 6 minute read Preview
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A Lebanese dancer defies extremist threats and social norms with his sold-out performances

Malak Harb And Kareem Chehayeb, The Associated Press 6 minute read Friday, Oct. 10, 2025

BEIRUT (AP) — Alexandre Paulikevitch put on his white dress and wig and danced his way to center stage, knowing that the extremist groups who had threatened him before his controversial recital might be waiting for him outside the theater.

The Lebanese dancer’s sold-out performance to a cheering crowd at a popular Beirut venue had angered fundamentalist movements ranging from the right-wing Christian Soldiers of God to Sunni Islamists.

The fundamentalists say Paulikevitch is “promoting homosexuality" because he wears dresses and corsets and undulates to classical Arabic music in a way which society largely sees as exclusive to women.

Paulikevitch says he’s breaking social norms and reintroducing forms of dance that were commonplace for men as recently as the early 20th century.

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Friday, Oct. 10, 2025

Alexandre Paulikevitch performs at a theatre in Beirut, Lebanon, Thursday, Sept. 11, 2025. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)
Alexandre Paulikevitch performs at a theatre in Beirut, Lebanon, Thursday, Sept. 11, 2025. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)

Kinew stands by cabinet minister dogged by controversy

Scott Billeck and Carol Sanders 5 minute read Preview

Kinew stands by cabinet minister dogged by controversy

Scott Billeck and Carol Sanders 5 minute read Friday, Sep. 12, 2025

Premier Wab Kinew says he won’t remove a cabinet minister over a social-media post she shared that slammed American right-wing activist Charlie Kirk following his assassination on a university campus Wednesday.

Nahanni Fontaine, who recently had to apologize over her criticism that an ASL interpreter had shared a stage with her and blocked her view of the audience, will remain families minister, the premier said Friday.

“It would be too easy to show her the door,” Kinew said, adding he doesn’t believe in cancel culture. “People need to be brought along and shown… we need to be showing empathy and compassion to people even when we don’t agree with them.”

Kinew said he spoke to Fontaine earlier in the day and asked her to apologize after she shared another person’s post on Instagram one day earlier that said: “Charlie Kirk was a racist, xenophobic, transphobic, Islamophobic, sexist, white nationalist mouthpiece who made millions of dollars inciting hatred in this country.”

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Friday, Sep. 12, 2025

MIKAELA MACKENZIE / FREE PRESS FILES

Families Minister Nahanni Fontaine

MIKAELA MACKENZIE / FREE PRESS FILES Families Minister Nahanni Fontaine
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Nepal internet crackdown part of global trend toward suppressing online freedom

Barbara Ortutay, The Associated Press 5 minute read Preview
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Nepal internet crackdown part of global trend toward suppressing online freedom

Barbara Ortutay, The Associated Press 5 minute read Friday, Oct. 10, 2025

Nepal's crackdown on social media companies, which led to protests and police killing at least 19 people, is part of a yearslong decline of internet freedoms around the world as even democracies seek to curtail online speech.

The Himalayan country’s government said last week it was blocking several social media platforms including Facebook, X and YouTube because the companies failed to comply with a requirement that they register with the government. The ban was lifted Tuesday a day after the deadly protests.

What's happening in Nepal mirrors “this broader pattern of controlling the narrative and controlling of stories emerging from the ground,” said Aditya Vashistha, an assistant professor of information science at Cornell University. “This has happened several times in the neighboring countries India, Pakistan, Bangladesh. So this is nothing new — in fact, I would say this is taken from the playbook, which is now very established, of trying to control social media narratives.”

Not just Nepal

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Friday, Oct. 10, 2025

FILE - This combination of photos shows logos of X, formerly known as Twitter, top left; Snapchat, top right; Facebook, bottom left; and TikTok, bottom right. (AP Photo, File)
FILE - This combination of photos shows logos of X, formerly known as Twitter, top left; Snapchat, top right; Facebook, bottom left; and TikTok, bottom right. (AP Photo, File)

Protests against Nepal’s social-media ban grow more violent as demonstrators set buildings on fire

Binaj Gurubacharya, The Associated Press 6 minute read Preview

Protests against Nepal’s social-media ban grow more violent as demonstrators set buildings on fire

Binaj Gurubacharya, The Associated Press 6 minute read Thursday, Sep. 25, 2025

KATHMANDU, Nepal (AP) — Protests against Nepal’s short-lived ban on social media grew increasingly violent Tuesday as demonstrators set government buildings and politicians’ homes on fire and attacked some leaders. The prime minister resigned amid widening criticism of the country’s political elite.

The resignation appeared to have little effect on the unrest. Tens of thousands of protesters remained on the streets late in the day, blocking roads and storming government facilities. Army helicopters ferried some ministers to safe places.

A day earlier, demonstrations led by young people angry about the blocking of several social media sites gripped the capital, and police opened fire on the crowds, killing 19 people.

The ban was lifted Tuesday, but the protests continued, fueled by rage over the deaths and accusations of political corruption in the nation wedged between China and India.

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Thursday, Sep. 25, 2025

Riot police use water cannon on protesters during clashes outside parliament building in Kathmandu, Nepal, Monday, Sept. 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Niranjan Shrestha)
Riot police use water cannon on protesters during clashes outside parliament building in Kathmandu, Nepal, Monday, Sept. 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Niranjan Shrestha)

Trump celebrates West Point alumni group canceling award ceremony to honor Tom Hanks

Michelle L. Price, The Associated Press 5 minute read Preview

Trump celebrates West Point alumni group canceling award ceremony to honor Tom Hanks

Michelle L. Price, The Associated Press 5 minute read Monday, Sep. 15, 2025

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump celebrated news on Monday that an alumni group from West Point canceled an award ceremony set to honor Tom Hanks, with the president calling the famous actor “destructive” and “WOKE.”

Hanks was scheduled to receive the 2025 Sylvanus Thayer Award on Sept. 25, but the U.S. Military Academy's alumni association canceled the ceremony last week, according to news reports.

“Important move!” Trump said in a post on his social media network Monday. “We don’t need destructive, WOKE recipients getting our cherished American Awards!!! Hopefully the Academy Awards, and other Fake Award Shows, will review their Standards and Practices in the name of Fairness and Justice.”

West Point, its alumni association and a representative for Hanks did not immediately respond to messages and calls seeking comment Monday.

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Monday, Sep. 15, 2025

FILE - Tom Hanks arrives at the 15th Governors Awards Nov. 17, 2024, at The Ray Dolby Ballroom in Los Angeles. (Photo by Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP, File)
FILE - Tom Hanks arrives at the 15th Governors Awards Nov. 17, 2024, at The Ray Dolby Ballroom in Los Angeles. (Photo by Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP, File)