A group tracking election-related social media activity reports that artificial intelligence flooded Canada’s online news space, making the 2025 federal election campaign the most “dystopian” in history.
Aengus Bridgman of the Ontario-based Media Ecosystem Observatory said that despite the overwhelming wave of sophisticated and false AI-generated content, its impact on Canadian voters appears minimal so far.
“We don’t have any evidence yet that Canadians are being manipulated or convinced of falsehoods,” said Bridgman, also a McGill University professor.
He added that while the risk remains, voters have demonstrated greater awareness of foreign interference, deepfakes, and manipulated online content.
AI-generated material included memes, deepfake videos of politicians, and impersonations of legitimate news sources to promote fraudulent cryptocurrency investment schemes. AI even repurposed a Facebook buy-and-sell page to advocate for 51st statehood, pretending to be a news outlet.
Researchers observed an encouraging trend: Canadians increasingly turned to legitimate news sites for election information, despite the news void created by the Online News Act, which became law in June 2023.
The legislation prompted Meta to block news availability on its platforms, leaving Canadians to navigate an election with limited access to authentic news content.
Bridgman described the current media environment as “Black Mirror”-esque and criticized Meta for poor content moderation.
In response, Meta spokesperson Julia Perreira said the company invested over $30 billion in safety and security measures and collaborated with Elections Canada to provide accurate voting information.
Bridgman noted a shift toward newer platforms like Bluesky and TikTok among politicians and voters, with differences emerging in how party candidates and supporters engage online.
Conservatives saw slightly more engagement on X and Instagram, while Liberals dominated Bluesky interactions.
These platform preferences have created fragmented perceptions of election issues, potentially deepening political polarization.
The Media Ecosystem Observatory, founded during the 2019 election and funded by the Department of Canadian Heritage and other foundations, analyzed about 5,000 social media accounts during this year’s campaign, covering Canadians, American influencers, politicians, podcasters, and news organizations across YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Bluesky, and Telegram.
Source: Swifteradio.com
