Front Burner

An election in a polluted media environment

New research shows Canada's media ecosystem has deteriorated since the last election. How will that affect us as we go to the polls?
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A woman marks her ballot behind a privacy barrier in the riding of Vaudreuil-Soulanges, west of Montreal, on October 19, 2015. (Graham Hughes/The Canadian Press)

With trust in journalism eroding, disinformation — once fringe — is now mainstream. Much of it is spreading on social media.Today's guest today says the online media environment in Canada is more fragile and vulnerable to manipulation than ever before. A dangerous situation at the best of times — even more so during an election.

Taylor Owen is a professor at McGill University; the Chair in Media, Ethics and Communication; the founding Director of The Centre for Media, Technology and Democracy; and principal investigator at the Media Ecosystem Observatory.

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