Torrent of online ‘toxicity,’ including hate, targeting election candidates: study

OTTAWA - Of the more than 350,000 comments sent to sitting candidates on Twitter during the first week of the federal election campaign, more than a quarter were deemed toxic, according to a new project by a nonpartisan research group.

Sabreena Delhon, executive director of the Samara Center for Democracy, said the research, which only examined Twitter, found that 20 percent of tweets were on the low or middle end of a "toxicity scale," containing insults, sexist or rude language. comments.

He said another seven percent of the tweets were "very toxic," including aggressive and hateful comments or threats of violence against the candidates or their families.

“If you are on the receiving end of these messages, they are insidious. They are relentless. They come at a rate of tens, hundreds or even thousands a day, ”he said.

The results of the project so far, which will run throughout the campaign, have found that Liberals are the most often received toxic tweets, followed by Conservatives, Greens, the Québec bloc and then the New Democrats. No further information is currently available on those numbers, but the first detailed report will be delivered later this week.

Delhon said the research found that women seeking reelection as liberals faced the most toxicity during the period studied and were more than five times more likely to receive toxic tweets than men running as candidates from the same party.

The investigation found that liberal leader Justin Trudeau is the leader of the most attacked party with nearly 19,000 tweets directed at him deemed "toxic." Numbers for other party leaders were not available.

A spokesperson for Twitter Canada said in a statement that the company takes action when it identifies tweets or accounts that violate company rules and that it has a civil integrity policy covering the posting of misleading content on Twitter.

"We want Twitter to be a place for safe and healthy conversations," the statement said.

The Samara Center for Democracy partnered with Areto Labs, which has been tracking toxicity online for several years during election campaigns in Canada, the United States, and New Zealand.

They developed an artificial intelligence tool that uses machine learning to review, track and classify toxic tweets received by political party leaders and incumbent candidates during the campaign.

"This means being able to distinguish a rude or insulting tweet from one that is threatening or even sexually explicit," Delhon said.

The two organizations will publish weekly reports on hate online during the campaign.

The Conservatives, the NDP and the Greens did not respond to requests for comment on the issue.

"The Liberal Party of Canada condemns all forms of hatred and discrimination," spokeswoman Adrienne Vaupshas said in a statement Wednesday. "Hateful and harmful content has no place on social media platforms or in our political discourse."

Delhon said that hateful statements and acts discourage voters and candidates from participating in the democratic process, especially women and members of minority communities.

"That is a pretty big problem because it hinders equity in representation and limits the inclusion of our democracy," he said.

The liberal government introduced a new law shortly before the House of Commons rose for the summer that it said would force social media companies to eliminate hate speech and any statements that are illegal in Canada.

The bill died in the role of the order when Parliament was dissolved for the September 20 elections.

A spokesperson for Facebook Canada was not available for official comment, but shared information and data about the company's efforts to combat hate speech on its platform.

Company data suggests that it had removed 31.5 million pieces of content for violating Facebook's hate speech policies in the second quarter of this year alone, and that nearly 98 percent were removed before users had it. reported.

The company says it will organize virtual training for candidates from all political parties to help them reach out and engage with their communities.

Duff Conacher, co-founder of Democracy Watch, said Canada needs an independent watchdog agency with the resources to enforce the rules that prohibit individuals and entities from posting hate speech and false statements about candidates during the election campaign.

"It does nothing to stop them six months later, because the election is over and the negative effect on the election results has already occurred," he said.

He said the liberals' policy of asking social media companies to enforce their own rules is not enough to address this problem that threatens democracy in Canada.

"The liberals have left it up to these big social media companies ... that we know nothing about and that operate in secret," he said.

This Canadian Press report was first published on August 25, 2021.

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This story was produced with financial assistance from Facebook and the Canadian Press News Fellowship.