Information that is fabricated to MIMIC news media content in its FORM, yet lacks the editorial norms and processes to ensure its accuracy and credibility (D. M. J. Lazer et al., “The Science of Fake News,” Science, vol. 359, no. 6380, pp. 1094–1096, Mar. 2018.)

No

R v. Zundel

SPOT

Who made this, and why?
Who is the target audience?
Who is helped or hurt by this message?
Is anyone’s point of view left out?

Disinformation is false information that is spread on purpose to mislead people (rather than unintentionally or by accident).

Yes

Section 2.b

Examples: No author name, no date, no About Us page or page on journalistic standards, few previous articles, grammar and spelling mistakes, all articles about the same topic, etc

[Instructor's discretion]

- Bots are computer algorithms meant to emulate human activity on the internet
- Trolls are internet users that aim to spread fake news, argue, insult, etc
- Both can spread false information to broader audiences, try to create an emotional response, etc.

No

Section 2(b).
Everyone has the following fundamental freedoms: freedom of thought, belief, opinion and expression, including freedom of the press and other media of communication

Is this a credible SOURCE?
Is the PERSPECTIVE they are representing biased?
Are OTHER sources reporting the same story?
Is the story TIMELY?

[Instructor's discretion]

Satire involves intentionally false and absurd news stories, usually 1) for comedic purposes or 2) to promote some sort of social or political commentary (i.e. making fun of a person or policy to spread a message)

No

- Conveying meaning through a violent form of expression is not protected expression under the Charter;
- Threats of violence are not protected;
- The location from which a message is conveyed might also exclude it from section 2(b) protection if it would conflict with the values underlying freedom of expression. For example, staging a protest inside a Cabinet meeting could interfere with government functions to such a degree that it prevents important political discourse from taking place

Right-click the picture and select “search Google for the image” to do a reverse image search and see if it has been used by other sources/in other contexts

1) Place words or quotes in quotation marks in Google to see if the same words pop up elsewhere
2) Do a reverse image search by right-clicking an image and select "search Google for image"

Echo chambers are online communities that continuously reinforce existing beliefs, which might not always be true. This is why the effect of misinformation, especially online, can be so strong and have a bigger impact on our lives than we might think.

Yes

- Amend the Canada Elections Act
- Make it an offense to "create false statements about a candidate for the purpose of influencing the outcome of an election"
- Create a protocol to inform Canadians of any possible threats to the integrety of the elections
- Pledge greater online security measures to prevent foreign influence in elections
- Outline requirements for social media platforms to prevent political misinformation

FactCheck.org
PolitiFact
Canada Fact Check
Snopes
Reporters' Lab

Online “cookies” collect your internet usage information to personalize ads for you, and this information is often shared with companies. The danger in this is that some companies will push ads for you to think a certain way since they have figured out what you are most likely to respond positively to. This makes you more likely to click on a news (fake or real) website from the ads.