Foreign ministry rang alarm bell over challenges in countering disinformation online

Canada s foreign ministry has expressed concern over its diminishing capacity to counter foreign disinformation online due to limited data access and evolving adversary tactics, as revealed in a recently released memo. The memo, presented at a federal inquiry into foreign interference, highlighted Canada s leadership in the G7 Rapid Response Mechanism (RRM) for identifying and responding to democracy threats through open-source data analytics. The memo, attributed to then-deputy minister Marta Morgan, pointed out that the data analytics capacity of RRM Canada had become increasingly constrained, mainly due to a sudden and unforeseen denial of sanctioned access to data from social media platforms. The memo, dated between summer 2020 and October 2022, underscored the importance of data access for providing policymakers with situational awareness and insight into potential foreign interference online. The memo also raised concerns about the lack of data access from major social media platforms, such as Facebook and Twitter (now X), which hampers the ability of RRM Canada and other researchers to identify foreign state-sponsored activity online. The evolving tactics of adversaries, including blurring the lines between domestic and foreign actors and overt and covert messaging, further complicate the task. To continue fulfilling its mandate, RRM Canada is exploring alternative avenues, such as elevating engagement with social media platforms through the G7 and expanding partnerships with civil society partners and scholars for real-time information and data exchange. The federal inquiry, focusing on the ability of agencies to detect, deter, and counter foreign meddling, will likely delve into the memo s contents and the challenges faced by RRM Canada and other researchers in combating foreign disinformation online. The memo s release comes amidst discussions on the impact of media content on people s behavior, with experts like Taylor Owen, an associate professor at McGill University, emphasizing that behavior is influenced by a combination of experiences, beliefs, values, politics, and overall media consumption. The Media Ecosystem Observatory, a collaboration between McGill and the University of Toronto,

Source: coastreporter.net
Published on 2024-09-26

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