MONTREAL — Social media is Alexis Cossette-Trudel’s bullhorn.

He uses it to rail against Quebec’s mask law, plugging videos from the conspiracy group QAnon and compelling his followers to “stand up” against what he calls the governmental “coup d’état” taking place under the guise of COVID-19 prevention.

Many seem to be listening. Thousands of people participated in an anti-mask demonstration two weekends ago, turning chunks of downtown Montreal into a bizarre parade of Trump flags and QAnon T-shirts that underscored the movement’s sudden ability to draw people into the streets.