Researchers have found that over a quarter of Canadians have encountered sophisticated fake political content on social media, particularly on Facebook, in the lead-up to the federal election on April 28. The report by Canada's Media Ecosystem Observatory highlights a rise in misleading ads imitating genuine news sources, often linked to fraudulent schemes like cryptocurrency. The election marks the first in which sharing Canadian news on Meta platforms is banned due to legislation compelling tech companies to financially support journalism, which some Canadians still rely on for political information, despite concerns about content quality and reliability.
More than half of Canadians still say they get political news from Facebook, despite the platform's ban on news articles from reputable outlets.
Researchers warn that platforms must increase protections amid a dramatic acceleration of online disinformation in the final weeks of the campaign.
A growing number of Facebook ads impersonating legitimate news sources were instead promoting fraudulent investment schemes, often involving cryptocurrency.
People using Facebook leave feeling more informed politically, either from comments from friends or family, about the election, despite the ban.
Collection
[
|
...
]