The federal election might seem somewhat distant in our minds as Canadians focus on enjoying summer while we can.
But October will be here before we know it. Expect to be bombarded by endless political campaign ads. There will undoubtedly be so much spinning and smearing, leaving us dizzy and nauseated.
While we encourage everybody to exercise their democratic right to cast a ballot and hope they do, we’re not going to attempt to persuade anyone to vote for one party or another. Whether Green, NDP, Liberal, Conservative or whoever else, vote for whichever party or candidate most aligns with your beliefs.
We do, however, implore our readers to challenge their filter bubbles and to be critical in considering information that comes to their attention — especially on the internet and social media, which have arguably enabled propagandized rhetoric and deliberate misinformation to flourish to unprecedented levels.
Outright lies permeate just about every corner of the web, so refrain from sharing memes or any other kind of suspiciously citation-free information without at least making the slightest effort to verify the veracity and credibility of the claims. And don’t jump to conclusions based on a headline without even first bothering to take the time to read the whole story.
Manufacturing clickbait that purposely misinforms and muddies the waters for profit has become rampantly prevalent. These troll farms — from Mexico to Russia — don’t hesitate to target either side of the spectrum. They don’t care about anything other than monetizing on the public’s tendency to react emotionally rather than rationally to a sensationalized headline.
With new funding from the Digital Citizen Initiative of the Department of Canadian Heritage, News Media Canada recently announced plans to launch a program this fall to help voters navigate through the rising tide of misinformation that threatens to drown democracy.
Named SPOT Fake News Online, the program aims to provide a tool to help Canadians assess news and information from the internet by asking four critical questions: is the Source credible; is the Perspective biased; are Other sources covering the same story; and is the story Timely?
Loaded language that seeks to elicit an emotional response from readers — as opposed to presenting information objectively — is typically a telltale indication that you’re reading a blog or opinion, but certainly not legitimate news.
Misinformation aside, we should also hold our political parties — and especially their leaders — to a higher standard, and condemn ceaseless attack ads.
Additionally, talking points ranging from balancing budgets and addressing climate issues to generating economic activity and everything else in between that are void of detailed plans and policy proposals are meaningless platitudes that should not be taken seriously.
No one is immune to misinformation. We all have our own bias based on our beliefs. But with a modicum of effort we can sift through the endless spin and make well-informed decisions.
— Simon Ducatel is editor of the Sundre Roundup, a Mountain View Publishing newspaper.
