海角社区

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE聽聽

Montreal, August聽18th,听2021 | A project headed by 海角社区 researchers will bolster efforts to monitor and analyze serious cases of mis- and dis-information, including foreign interference, in the 44th Canadian federal election.

Mis- and dis-information are a growing threat to the integrity of free and fair elections and to the strength of democracies the world聽over. That is why聽惭肠骋颈濒濒听鲍苍颈惫别谤蝉颈迟测聽and the聽聽are聽announcing the creation of the聽Canadian Election Misinformation聽Project聽to monitor and respond to聽mis- and聽disinformation incidents聽and threats during the聽44th Canadian federal election.聽

To sign up for regular updates from the Project, please visit: /maxbellschool/canadian-election-misinformation-project.

False or deceptive information (misinformation) spreads rapidly online while malicious actors engage in well-resourced attempts to confuse or mislead (disinformation). Together,听these largely online phenomena have meant that even the most basic facts have become contested,听and democratic deliberation and debate have become more difficult.聽

鈥淭he reality of contemporary politics is that much democratic process now takes place online, in a new digital public sphere that has been shown to be vulnerable to abuse and manipulation,鈥� says one of the聽Project鈥檚聽lead聽investigators,听Taylor Owen. 鈥淭he first line of聽defense聽in addressing these potential harms is understanding how Canadian citizens consume information and whether mis and disinformation promoted by both domestic and foreign actors changes how they behave during an election.鈥澛�

Taylor Owen聽is聽the Beaverbrook Chair in Media, Ethics and Communications, and聽Director of the聽听补迟听惭肠骋颈濒濒鈥檚听Max Bell School of Public Policy, where he is聽an associate professor. He is joined聽by聽鈥擯rofessor in the Department of Political Science at the University of Toronto and at the Munk School聽of Global Affairs聽and Public Policy, where he is also聽Associate Director, Global Engagement and the Director of聽the聽听(笔贰础搁尝)鈥攁苍诲听鈥攁 PhD candidate at 海角社区 studying聽digital politics鈥攚ho will also be leading the聽Project.聽

The聽Project,听a partnership between a range of academic and civil society organizations,听aims to improve our understanding of the role that mis- and disinformation play in Canada.聽It is funded by聽the聽,听, and the聽.聽Partners include聽,听youth mobilization organization聽,听, and the聽.听听

鈥淐anadians are rightly concerned about the dangerous impacts of misinformation and disinformation, particularly during our most important democratic moments,鈥� says Bridgman.聽鈥淭he Canadian Election Misinformation聽Project, the first of its kind in Canada, brings together the best techniques in social and traditional media monitoring alongside daily surveying of Canadians. The full team will be on the front lines of defending the Canadian election against bad actors.鈥澛�

In the post-election period, the聽Project聽will provide an overall assessment of the role that mis-聽and dis-information played聽throughout聽the election period.聽

About the Media Ecosystem Observatory聽

The Media Ecosystem Observatory is the leading research organization dedicated to understanding Canadian information ecosystem health. Since the 2019 Canadian Federal Election, the Observatory has been working on understanding how, why, and when the information that Canadians see and share online聽has implications on聽real-world聽behaviours. Ultimately, their work is about safeguarding Canadian democracy against online harms and digital threats聽by developing an聽evidence-based model for information ecosystem health.聽

About the Max Bell School of Public Policy聽

Established in 2018, 海角社区鈥檚 Max Bell School of Public Policy is committed to the research, teaching, public outreach, and practical advocacy of sound public policy, with each of these four dimensions grounded in a solid understanding of the overall policy process, not merely as it is described in theory but as it exists in the real world, with all its imperfections and limitations. The principle-based design of policy solutions to important problems, the interaction of policy development with partisan politics, and knowledge of the workings of the machinery of government all play central roles in the activities of the Max Bell School.聽