Witness Testimony

Jerry Managre, a retired communications professional and former reporter, testified regarding his role on the National Citizens Inquiry communications team. He described issuing approximately 18 media releases announcing hearings, witness calls, commissioner appointments, and related updates, distributed through an expanding email list that included legacy media, alternative media, and citizen journalists. He reported locating more than 100 media reports about the NCI, primarily from alternative outlets, and noted limited attendance and reporting from legacy media organizations.
He presented social media analytics showing growth in cumulative followers from approximately 16,000 to 60,000 across platforms during the hearings, along with impressions increasing from roughly 236,000 to over 14 million. He testified that NCI experienced deplatforming and suspensions on TikTok, YouTube, and Facebook, as well as reported shadow banning on Twitter, which he stated limited reach and live-streaming capabilities. He characterized these actions as censorship challenges affecting distribution of hearing content.
Managre also summarized website analytics for nationalcitizensinquiry.ca, reporting approximately 240,000 page views over six months, with significant spikes during hearing periods. He noted that direct URL traffic constituted the largest source of visits, followed by referrals from Google, Facebook, and Twitter. He reported approximately 68,000 petition signatures at the time of testimony and described engagement across Canadian provinces and internationally. He concluded by emphasizing community-level involvement and continued public engagement as essential going forward.