US admiral dismisses Canada invasion question as 'preposterous'
Admiral Samuel Paparo compared the idea to attacking Mars after a reporter asked if he would follow such an order
AI-assisted coverage comparison, editor-supervised · How this was made
US admiral dismisses Canada invasion question as 'preposterous'
MediaBias News
Photograph: MediaBias News
What this story says
- Admiral Samuel Paparo, head of US Pacific Command, was asked at a news conference in Victoria whether he would invade Canada.
- Paparo dismissed the question as 'absolutely and utterly preposterous' and compared the idea to attacking Mars.
- Eleven left-rated outlets and ten centre-rated outlets carried the story, but no right-rated outlet did.
- One centre-rated digest mentioned a historical US military plan to invade Canada, War Plan Red.
Who covered it
Percentages are shares of the 21 outlets carrying a published leaning rating. 1 of the 22 outlets we know ran this story carry no rating and are not counted in them. Coverage measured .
Trust
42/100
Craft
55/100
Hype
55/100
22 sources · methodology
Thin on the right so far
None of the 21 outlets with a published leaning rating that ran this story are rated right.
This story is still being watched, so it is a count and not yet a finding. Coverage keeps arriving for hours after an event, and a side that has published nothing this morning may publish by tonight. If it is still true when we stop checking, we will say so plainly.
Admiral Samuel Paparo, the commander of US Pacific Command, was asked at a news conference in Victoria on 2 September 2026 whether he would follow an order to invade Canada. Paparo replied that such an order was as unlikely as one to attack Mars. In one account, he called the question 'absolutely and utterly preposterous'.
The question followed remarks Paparo made about Canada being an 'indispensable' military partner in the Indo-Pacific. He said military cooperation between the two countries was unaffected by political or economic tensions. The exchange took place during a press event in British Columbia.
What the coverage left out
No right-rated outlet ran the story at all. None of the digests from left-rated or centre-rated outlets included Paparo’s full quote calling the question 'absolutely and utterly preposterous'.
Still developing. We have re-checked which outlets are covering this 2 times, most recently on 2 Sept 2026, 20:15, and will add the sides that appear.
How each side covered it
Our own reading of the reporting listed below, written from the outlets’ articles rather than quoted from them. The reasoning is set out on our methodology page.
Left
11 rated outlets
- All eleven left-rated digests led on Paparo’s comparison between invading Canada and attacking Mars. They carried his dismissal of the question as preposterous and named him as the head of US Pacific Command. None of the digests mentioned War Plan Red, the historical US military contingency for invading Canada.
Centre
10 rated outlets
- The ten centre-rated digests also led on Paparo’s Mars comparison and his dismissal of the invasion question. Nine of them named the reporter’s follow-up, asking whether Paparo would follow an order from President Donald Trump. One centre-rated digest, from Military.com, did not mention the Mars remark but instead led on War Plan Red, a classified US military plan from the 1930s for invading Canada during a hypothetical war with Britain.
Right
0 rated outlets
No outlet rated right has run this story so far. We are still checking, and will say plainly if that does not change.
Questions about this coverage
- How did the left and right cover US admiral dismisses Canada invasion question as 'preposterous'?
- Of the 21 outlets on this story carrying a published leaning rating, 52% are rated left, 48% are rated centre, 0% are rated right. Those percentages are shares of the rated outlets, not of every outlet that ran it, which was 22. The sections above set out what each side emphasised, in its own terms.
- Is US admiral dismisses Canada invasion question as 'preposterous' left or right?
- Neither side dominates it. Of the 21 rated outlets on this story, 52% are rated left, 48% are rated centre, 0% are rated right, and no side holds the 70% this site would want before calling a field one-sided. A story is not left or right in any case; the outlets that carried it are what carry ratings.
- Is the coverage of US admiral dismisses Canada invasion question as 'preposterous' biased?
- US admiral dismisses Canada invasion question as 'preposterous' is one event reported by 22 outlets, and this page does not rate the story as biased or unbiased. What it publishes is the spread: which outlets ran it, where named rating organisations place each of them on the spectrum, and what each side chose to lead with. A leaning rating describes an outlet's record over time, not this article, and the two should not be run together.
- Which side is not reporting US admiral dismisses Canada invasion question as 'preposterous'?
- When we first saw this story, outlets rated right had barely covered it. Coverage accretes for hours after an event, so that is where to look rather than a verdict — the split above is the current count, and it is the one to read.
- Which outlets covered US admiral dismisses Canada invasion question as 'preposterous'?
- 22 that we know of, every one of them listed further up this page with a link to its own report and to what we hold on the publisher. Nothing here is a summary of somebody else's summary: the outlets are named so the original reporting can be read.
- What did Admiral Paparo say about invading Canada?
- Admiral Samuel Paparo, head of US Pacific Command, called the idea of invading Canada 'absolutely and utterly preposterous' and compared it to attacking Mars. He made the remarks at a news conference in Victoria on 2 September 2026 after a reporter asked if he would follow such an order.
- Did any outlet report on a historical US plan to invade Canada?
- Yes, one centre-rated digest from Military.com mentioned War Plan Red, a classified US military contingency from the 1930s that detailed how American forces could invade Canada during a hypothetical war with Britain. No other outlet carried this detail.
- Which outlets covered the story?
- Eleven left-rated outlets and ten centre-rated outlets carried digests of the story. No right-rated outlet ran it. All led on Paparo’s comparison between invading Canada and attacking Mars, but none included his full quote calling the question 'absolutely and utterly preposterous'.
Read it at the source
22 outlets, grouped by the leaning a published rating gives them. Every headline links to the original; an underlined outlet name opens our profile of that publisher.
Left
11- Commander suggests U.S. war on 'Martians' as likely as an invasion of Canada (opens haltonhillstoday.ca in a new tab)
haltonhillstoday.ca — is haltonhillstoday.ca biased? Our profile of this outlet
- Commander suggests U.S. war on 'Martians' as likely as an invasion of Canada (opens Timmins Today in a new tab)
Timmins Today — is Timmins Today biased? Our profile of this outlet
- Commander suggests U.S. war on 'Martians' as likely as an invasion of Canada (opens ElliotLakeToday.com in a new tab)
ElliotLakeToday.com — is ElliotLakeToday.com biased? Our profile of this outlet
- Commander suggests U.S. war on 'Martians' as likely as an invasion of Canada (opens Bay Today in a new tab)
- Commander suggests U.S. war on 'Martians' as likely as an invasion of Canada (opens Sudbury in a new tab)
- Commander suggests U.S. war on 'Martians' as likely as an invasion of Canada (opens Elora Fergus Today in a new tab)
Elora Fergus Today — is Elora Fergus Today biased? Our profile of this outlet
- Commander suggests U.S. war on 'Martians' as likely as an invasion of Canada (opens Thorold Today in a new tab)
Thorold Today — is Thorold Today biased? Our profile of this outlet
- Commander suggests U.S. war on 'Martians' as likely as an invasion of Canada (opens Midland Today in a new tab)
Midland Today — is Midland Today biased? Our profile of this outlet
Show 3 more
- Commander suggests U.S. war on 'Martians' as likely as an invasion of Canada (opens Orillia Matters in a new tab)
Orillia Matters — is Orillia Matters biased? Our profile of this outlet
- Commander suggests U.S. war on 'Martians' as likely as an invasion of Canada (opens SooToday.com in a new tab)
SooToday.com — is SooToday.com biased? Our profile of this outlet
- Commander suggests U.S. war on ‘Martians’ as likely as an invasion of Canada (opens The Toronto Star in a new tab)
The Toronto Star — is The Toronto Star biased? Our profile of this outlet
Centre
10- Commander suggests U.S. war on 'Martians' as likely as an invasion of Canada (opens Castanet in a new tab)
- Commander suggests U.S. war on ‘Martians’ as likely as an invasion of Canada (opens CFJC Today Kamloops in a new tab)
CFJC Today Kamloops — is CFJC Today Kamloops biased? Our profile of this outlet
- Commander suggests U.S. war on 'Martians' as likely as an invasion of Canada (opens Chek news in a new tab)
- Commander suggests U.S. war on ‘Martians’ as likely as an invasion of Canada (opens meadowlakeNOW in a new tab)
meadowlakeNOW — is meadowlakeNOW biased? Our profile of this outlet
- Commander suggests U.S. war on ‘Martians’ as likely as an invasion of Canada (opens Ckpg Today in a new tab)
Ckpg Today — is Ckpg Today biased? Our profile of this outlet
- Commander suggests U.S. war on ‘Martians’ as likely as an invasion of Canada (opens Battlefords NOW in a new tab)
Battlefords NOW — is Battlefords NOW biased? Our profile of this outlet
- Commander suggests U.S. war on 'Martians' as likely as an invasion of Canada (opens Narcity in a new tab)
- Commander suggests U.S. war on 'Martians' as likely as an invasion of Canada (opens Medicine Hat News in a new tab)
Medicine Hat News — is Medicine Hat News biased? Our profile of this outlet
Show 2 more
- Commander suggests U.S. war on 'Martians' as likely as an invasion of Canada (opens Winnipeg Free Press in a new tab)
Winnipeg Free Press — is Winnipeg Free Press biased? Our profile of this outlet
- The US Military Once Had a Secret Plan to Invade Canada (opens Military.com in a new tab)
Military.com — is Military.com biased? Our profile of this outlet
Right
0No outlet in this group ran the story.
Not rated
1How did this read?
About the coverage, not about the story. We do not ask whether you agree with what happened — we have no honest use for that answer.
