Antisemitic flyers distributed at Belleville synagogue after shooting
Police are investigating the distribution of flyers blaming Jewish people after a recent attack on the synagogue.
AI-assisted coverage comparison, editor-supervised · How this was made
Antisemitic flyers distributed at Belleville synagogue after shooting
Photograph: Global News (embedded from source)
What this story says
- Antisemitic flyers blaming Jewish people were distributed to the Sons of Jacob synagogue in Belleville, Ontario, and nearby areas.
- The flyers were distributed after a Sept. 20 shooting at the synagogue, which police described as a thwarted mass killing.
- The shooter, Sean Ward, was a former Canadian Armed Forces soldier.
- Police are aware of the flyer distribution and are investigating the incident.
Who covered it
Percentages are shares of the 6 outlets carrying a published leaning rating. 1 of the 7 outlets we know ran this story carry no rating and are not counted in them. Coverage measured .
Trust
60/100
Craft
70/100
Hype
20/100
7 sources · methodology
Thin on the right so far
None of the 6 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.
Antisemitic flyers were distributed this week to the Sons of Jacob synagogue in Belleville, Ontario, and surrounding neighbourhoods. Norman Weddum, president of the synagogue, stated he found four different flyers blaming Jewish people for various issues. Police have confirmed they are aware of the flyers and are actively investigating the incident.
The distribution of the flyers occurred after a Sept. 20 shooting at the synagogue, which police have described as a thwarted mass killing. The shooter, identified as 29-year-old Sean Ward, was a former Canadian Armed Forces soldier who was released in 2022. Police stated Ward had multiple firearms, ammunition, and gasoline, with the apparent motive to carry out an extended attack when he opened fire on an officer stationed outside the building. Another officer arrived and joined the exchange of gunfire. No one inside the synagogue was harmed, but the officer outside sustained multiple gunshot wounds and was expected to undergo surgeries. Ward died in hospital the following day from injuries sustained during the shootout.
Disagreement on flyer distribution details
Norman Weddum stated that he woke up Thursday morning to find the flyers had been distributed overnight to the synagogue and throughout the city's east end. He also said that the number of flyers distributed and posted suggested it could not have been done by one person. Loonie Politics reported that the flyers were distributed in the city's east end according to police.
What the coverage left out
No right-rated outlet ran this story. The digests from The Toronto Star, NiagaraFallsReview.ca, and WellandTribune.ca did not include Norman Weddum's statement that the number of flyers distributed and posted suggested it could not have been done by one person.
Still developing. We have re-checked which outlets are covering this 4 times, most recently on 2 Oct 2026, 20:15, and will add the sides that appear.
How other outlets pictured it
Which photograph to run is each newsroom’s own choice. The leaning beside a name is that outlet’s published rating, not a claim that the pictures divide along it. Every picture is shown from the outlet’s own server and links to the article it ran in.
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
4 rated outlets
- Left-rated reports led on the distribution of antisemitic flyers to the Belleville synagogue and surrounding areas. These reports included details about the flyers blaming Jewish people and the context of the recent shooting at the synagogue. They noted that police are investigating the incident. The reports mentioned that the shooter, Sean Ward, was a former Canadian Armed Forces soldier released in 2022. The full reports from Global News and The Toronto Star provided statements from Norman Weddum, president of the synagogue, describing the flyers as 'disturbing' and noting the scale of distribution. They also detailed the Sept. 20 shooting, including the actions of Const. Jeff Smith and the shooter's death, and mentioned the shooter's military background.
Centre
2 rated outlets
- Centre-rated reports focused on the distribution of antisemitic flyers to the Belleville synagogue and surrounding neighbourhoods, highlighting the incident as 'disturbing'. They stated that police are aware of the flyers and are actively investigating. The reports mentioned the context of the Sept. 20 shooting at the synagogue, described as a thwarted mass killing, and identified the shooter as Sean Ward, a former Canadian Armed Forces soldier released in 2022. The full reports from City News and Barrie 360 included statements from Norman Weddum, president of the synagogue, about finding the flyers and his reaction. They also provided details of the shooting incident and the shooter's background.
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 Antisemitic flyers distributed at Belleville synagogue after shooting?
- Of the 6 outlets on this story carrying a published leaning rating, 67% are rated left, 33% are rated centre, 0% are rated right. Those percentages are shares of the rated outlets, not of every outlet that ran it, which was 7. The sections above set out what each side emphasised, in its own terms.
- Is Antisemitic flyers distributed at Belleville synagogue after shooting left or right?
- Too few of the outlets on this story carry a published leaning rating to say. 6 of them do, and this site does not characterise a field under 12: at that size one newsroom filing moves the share by ten points. The percentages above are the count as it stands.
- Is the coverage of Antisemitic flyers distributed at Belleville synagogue after shooting biased?
- Antisemitic flyers distributed at Belleville synagogue after shooting is one event reported by 7 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 Antisemitic flyers distributed at Belleville synagogue after shooting?
- 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 Antisemitic flyers distributed at Belleville synagogue after shooting?
- 7 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 happened at the Belleville synagogue?
- Antisemitic flyers blaming Jewish people were distributed to the Sons of Jacob synagogue and surrounding neighbourhoods. This occurred after a shooting incident at the synagogue on September 20, which police described as a thwarted mass killing.
- Who was the shooter at the synagogue?
- The shooter was identified as Sean Ward, a 29-year-old former Canadian Armed Forces soldier who was released in 2022. He died in hospital after a shootout with police outside the synagogue.
- Are the police investigating the flyers?
- Yes, police are aware of the antisemitic flyers that were distributed and are actively investigating the incident. They have confirmed their awareness and ongoing investigation into the matter.
Read it at the source
7 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
4- ‘Disturbing’: Belleville, Ont., synagogue receives antisemitic flyers after shooting (opens Global News in a new tab)
Global News — is Global News biased? Our profile of this outlet
- ‘Disturbing’: Belleville, Ont., synagogue receives antisemitic flyers after shooting (opens WellandTribune.ca in a new tab)
WellandTribune.ca — is WellandTribune.ca biased? Our profile of this outlet
- ‘Disturbing’: Belleville, Ont., synagogue receives antisemitic flyers after shooting (opens NiagaraFallsReview.ca in a new tab)
NiagaraFallsReview.ca — is NiagaraFallsReview.ca biased? Our profile of this outlet
- ‘Disturbing’: Belleville, Ont., synagogue receives antisemitic flyers after shooting (opens The Toronto Star in a new tab)
The Toronto Star — is The Toronto Star biased? Our profile of this outlet
Centre
2Right
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.
