Elections Canada has been in touch with social media platforms about election misinformation

Darren Major · CBC News

· Posted: Mar 24, 2025 12:14 PM EDT | Last Updated: 6 minutes ago

The caput of Elections Canada says helium has been successful interaction with societal media platforms successful an effort to code concerns astir misinformation arsenic Canada wades into an predetermination campaign.

Chief Electoral Officer Stephane Perrault told reporters connected Monday that helium has reached retired to societal media sites such arsenic X and TikTok to "seek their enactment to making this predetermination a unafraid election." He said helium has been satisfied with the effect truthful far.

"We'll spot what enactment really takes spot during the election. Hopefully they won't person to intervene, but if determination are issues, hopefully they volition beryllium existent to their word," helium said.

Perrault said helium would marque his connection and the effect from the platforms public.

TikTok, whose parent institution is Chinese-owned, said successful a quality merchandise connected Sunday that it is "shoring up our efforts to safeguard the TikTok level during Canada's national predetermination season."

"[There are] several ways we bash this — including that we support the integrity of elections by removing harmful misinformation astir civic and electoral processes, partnering with fact-checkers to measure the accuracy of content, and labeling claims that can't beryllium verified," the connection said.

Perrault cautioned Canadians to beryllium connected the lookout for atrocious accusation astir the voting process successful general.

"I promote Canadians to usage Elections Canada arsenic the authoritative root of accusation astir the national electoral process," helium told reporters successful French connected Monday.

"I besides promote Canadians not to fto their societal media provender dictate what they read."

The bureau is launching a caller online instrumentality — dubbed "ElectoFacts" — that lists and debunks inaccurate accusation that is swirling online.

Foreign interference successful Canadian ideology has been apical of caput successful caller years, culminating successful a 16-month nationalist enquiry into the matter.

Commissioner Marie-Josée Hogue issued a study successful January that stated overseas interference hasn't determined the result of erstwhile elections. But Hogue wrote that the biggest menace to Canadian ideology is the dispersed of misinformation and disinformation successful the media and connected societal networks.

"In my presumption it is nary exaggeration to accidental that astatine this juncture, accusation manipulation (whether overseas oregon not) poses the azygous biggest hazard to our democracy," she wrote. "It is an existential threat."

Perrault said voters tin study misinformation to Elections Canada.

"If thing looks similar it's from Elections Canada but is simply a spot fishy, idiosyncratic tin verify connected our website whether this is contented that is coming from Elections Canada," helium said.