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At a time when many citizens mainly get their news from social media, these platforms are becoming fertile ground for the creators of fake news. These disinformers compete in ingenuity to manipulate public opinion, often for political or economic reasons, especially during elections. To protect yourself from this threat, here is a quick and easy method.
"The 2021 Canadian federal election was marred by widespread disinformation, but disinformation had only a minimal impact on the election overall," concluded a Canadian research team in a report published in 2022. Four years later, the country is preparing for a new election in a completely different context.
This is the first election since Elon Musk bought Twitter in 2022 – a network he renamed X – raising fears about the influence he could have on Canadian politics. But it is also the first election since Mark Zuckerberg, head of Meta, blocked access to Canadian news on Instagram and Facebook in 2023, in addition to firing the fact-checkers who worked for Meta a few months ago. Fears of a proliferation of fake news are therefore growing.
Last February, the Chief Electoral Officer of Canada wrote to digital platforms to express his concerns about the impact of social media on Canadian democracy.
The Minister of Democratic Institutions of Quebec, Jean-François Roberge, tabled a bill on April 3 that would make it illegal to deliberately spread fake news to influence an election or reduce public confidence in the electoral process. Fines of $1,000 to $10,000 are planned for an individual, and $5,000 to $30,000 for a company or organization. These amounts would be increased for repeat offences.
A series of surveys published in 2023 by Statistics Canada reveals that nearly two-thirds of Canadians (64%) have little confidence in the information found on social media and that 43% feel that it is increasingly difficult to distinguish fact from fiction online. Access to reliable information is therefore a significant issue in ensuring that the electoral process is fair and transparent.
Various forms of disinformation
Fake news can take many forms. It can be information that is entirely or partially invented, images or videos taken out of context, misleadingly edited or generated by artificial intelligence... The aim is often to sow division, manipulate public opinion or promote a political agenda.
Their sponsors are states, individuals, companies or groups which, motivated by an ideology, rely on new technologies and know how to use social media algorithms to interfere in an election campaign. Their objective is to promote the candidate or political party that corresponds to their interests.
Some public figures may also be used to participate in this influence strategy by disseminating biased or manipulated content. A recent example is the case involving Quebec influencer Lauren Chen and her husband Liam Donovan, who were accused by the US justice system in September 2024 of having received $10 million from Russian sources. In exchange, they allegedly used their accounts, including a YouTube channel with 580,000 subscribers at the time, to broadcast pro-Russian content during the 2024 US elections.
The consequences of this fake news are not limited to influencing the outcome of an election. It can deeply damage the credibility of democratic institutions and sow confusion among voters. In 2016, false information circulating on social networks not only affected the US presidential election, but also contributed to a climate of general distrust of the democratic process.
Faced with this challenge, fact-checking and media literacy are often cited as solutions to combat disinformation. And it starts with enabling everyone to know how to tell the difference between real and fake news.
Three steps to spot fake news
To avoid falling into the trap of fake news, here are three simple reflexes to acquire. It only takes a minute to tell the difference between reliable information and misleading information.
- Exercise critical thinking
Polarizing subjects such as politics, the environment, immigration and health are particularly prone to fake news during elections. They have one thing in common: they are surprising, even shocking. The aim of those who share them is to provoke an emotion, positive or negative, such as joy, fear or indignation, to elicit reactions from the audience (likes, shares, comments) and prevent them from taking a step back to evaluate the veracity of the claims.
Remember that anyone can post messages on social media and that the information is not filtered there. Use your critical thinking and common sense when faced with a publication that plays on prejudice or sensationalism. This is an essential first step in arming yourself against misinformation.
- Verify the source
Studies on the behaviour of citizens on social media show that, all too often, people are content to share links having only read a headline or seen an image or video. This is a mistake! Just as you don't trust just anyone in real life, you should always check the source of information before sharing it.
The first thing to do is to click on the profile of the account sharing the information. Is it a recognized and reliable media organization? An anonymous account? A politician? A company? Be careful, since it has become possible to pay for certification on Instagram and other sites, so the famous blue tick is no longer a guarantee that the account is verified.
Recognized and reliable news sites, such as Radio-Canada, The Rover or Le Devoir, are good indicators. Be wary of suspicious or little-known sites, especially those with a strange URL that does not end in .com, .ca, or .org, or that contains numbers in the middle of letters. In addition, a safe URL usually starts with https://. The absence of contact information on the website is also a sign that should alert you. At the slightest suspicion, it is best to err on the side of caution and take the next step.
- Search for other sources to confirm the information
If information is verified, it will undoubtedly be relayed by other media or other credible personalities. Fake news often spreads on a single channel, but travels six times faster than real news. And it is 70% more likely to be shared again, as researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology found as early as 2018. However, all it takes is a few seconds and an online search engine to avoid the trap.
Type in the keywords of the information you are looking for and see if other reliable sources also mention it. If this is not the case, or if only two dubious sites share exactly the same text or video, it is undoubtedly fake news. This simple search might also reveal that the information is authentic, but was published several years ago and has been taken out of context, for example.
By following these steps, every citizen can considerably reduce the risk of spreading false information and ensure that they make an informed decision when casting their vote.
Practical tip: How to spot dubious political content
1. Does it make you react very strongly, very quickly?
→ If you feel mainly anger, fear or indignation, it may be deliberate. Manipulative content seeks to trigger strong emotions before you even have time to think.
2. There is no clear source?
→ No link, no reliable media cited, just a “rumour” or a visual that came out of nowhere? Be wary. This is often a sign of misinformation.
3. The message pits a “we” against a dangerous “them”
→ If it talks about “true citizens,” “threatened people,” or “enemies from within,” it's probably a disguised ideological discourse.
4. Does it make you want to share it right away?
→ “Share it before it gets taken down!” is a classic technique. Slow down. If it were true, you would have heard about it elsewhere.
5. Don't know where it comes from?
→ Anonymous account, vague profile, no “About” page? Keep your distance.