In September 2019, Mount Royal University instructor Mark Hecht wrote an op-ed for the Vancouver Sun titled “Ethnic diversity harms social trust, economic wellbeing, argues instructor,” which cited research showing the link between highly diverse societies and lower social trust.

Hecht and the Vancouver Sun were immediately mobbed and smeared on social media, resulting in the Sun unpublishing Hecht’s article and effectively erasing it from public memory. The newspaper’s editor-in-chief apologized for running the article.

Watch True North’s Lindsay Shepherd interview Mark Hecht about his experience, the backlash he faced, and whether he is still working at the university.

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Author

  • Lindsay Shepherd

    Lindsay holds an M.A. in Cultural Analysis and Social Theory from Wilfrid Laurier University. She has been published in The Post Millennial, Maclean’s, National Post, Ottawa Citizen, and Quillette.