An off-beat Canadian TikTok influencer is the latest target in an attempt by the B.C. media to malign the Conservative Party of British Columbia, which recently catapulted from decades of obscurity to become the Official Opposition.
British Columbian Adam Beattie, who goes by his online monicker, Robin Skies, is known for his irreverent commentary on TikTok. His short-form videos where he films himself casually commenting on news in his characteristic beanie and round glasses have earned him nearly 200,000 followers.
Beattie’s online success recently garnered the attention of The Tyee a self-described “independent news” organization long positioned as a “progressive voice” in the British Columbia mediascape.
In particular, the outlet took issues with a TikTok video posted by Beattie which was viewed 1.6 million times.
Uploaded shortly after New Year’s Eve, the video shows a crowded Granville Street in Vancouver filled predominantly with young men, mostly of Indian descent.
Skies comments in the video that the lack of women in the scene is concerning, attributing it to a “broken immigration system” and suggesting some cultures do not prioritize women’s safety as much as others.
In the video, Beattie states, “It’s not the fact that everyone in this video is brown. It’s the fact that everyone in this video is a man.” He adds that the absence of women stems from discomfort caused by men, linking this to immigration policies.
A follow-up video responding to accusations of racism garnered 1.5 million views.
“It is not racist to criticize culture, it is racist to criticize ethnicity,” Skies said in the follow-up video. “I don’t give a flying (expletive) about the colour of someone’s skin, I care about the content of their character.”
But that didn’t stop The Tyee from attempting to tie the video to “a sharp uptick in racism towards South Asian people in Canada” in its article.
The Tyee additionally reported that Beattie worked as a paid staffer for the Conservative Party of BC in 2023 and 2024.
True North reached out to Beattie, who confirmed he did not respond to The Tyee’s requests for comment, feeling their publication wasn’t engaging “in good faith.”
Beattie also clarified that he began working for John Rustad in a communications role when Rustad was running as an independent.
When asked if he had any theories on why he was targeted in the piece, Beattie told True North “I think they found a connection there that wasn’t already obvious to the public,” referring to his work with the BC Conservatives
The Tyee has published past attacks against political figures associated with the BC Conservatives.
In Dec. 2024, for example, The Tyee dug deep into the party’s board, notably Angelo Isidorou – the party’s executive director. It revisited a 2017 photo of a then 20-year-old Isidorou making a hand gesture linked to what The Tyee referred to as “far-right groups” – a claim he too denied as being racist.
According to its own website, The Tyee received funding from Heritage Canada through the Local Journalism Initiative to support local reporting. It also received funding from the Canada Periodical Fund’s Aid to Publishers program – another federal program.
The BC Conservatives have found themselves at odds with the same federal government that provides The Tyee grants over major issues like the “safe supply” program.
True North reached out to Jen St. Denis, the author of the article written on Beattie and published by The Tyee, who did not offer a response.