Have you heard?
Justin Trudeau converted to Islam and is working diligently to bring enough refugees and immigrants into Canada to secure Liberal election victories for years to come. Scandalous right?
And totally, 100 per cent, not true.
With the federal election upon us, the candidates are circling their constituencies, spreading their own versions of the truth.
Green Party candidate Peter Nygaard was in Westlock last week for a meet-and-greet and incumbent Conservative candidate Arnold Viersen opened his campaign office in Barrhead a few days before. Leslie Penny also declared her candidacy for the Liberals last week and John Schrader, with the People’s Party, is out and about getting to know his constituency, all in the hopes of convincing voters their worldview is the right one.
As we’ve learned in the last few weeks, the large parties have hundreds of people in their “war rooms,” digging up old embarrassing photos and 15-year-old speeches in the House of Commons. It’s certainly doesn’t seem very civil and shouldn’t be given a pass, but simply put, that’s politics.
There’s spin from the parties and candidates and then there is blatant disinformation, and for the most part, it lives on the Internet. We live in a post-truth society now and proprietors of disinformation revel in it, as they spread misleading or false information to those who need their biases confirmed.
It’s not fair, but it’s up to us as responsible voters to decipher the minefield of misleading memes, out-of-context quotations and outright lies spewed forth by any number of faux news sites, on all sides, that make their way onto your auntie’s Facebook feed.
On the back of last week’s edition, there was a full-page advertisement about being dutiful during this election and analyzing the veracity of what you’re reading on the Internet. There are similar ads running in this week’s edition as well.
The ad recommends the SPOT method. Ask yourself: Is the “source” credible? Is the “perspective” biased? Are any “other” sources reporting the same story? And is the story “timely”?
It’s a jungle out there, be mindful and be wary about where you’re getting your information from.
Go straight to the candidates, attend forums and ask questions, lots of them. Let your loyalties fall where they may, but don’t be a sucker.
