Access To Information records show the Trudeau Liberals in 2019 launched a costly “fact-checking” program to “counter coronavirus misinformation.”Records obtained by Blacklock’s Reporter show then-Democratic Institutions Minister Karina Gould paid researchers nearly $370,000 to discourage media and the public from questioning authority.Researchers stressed the importance of invoking Canadian values to avoid being seen as Liberal partisans.“We encouraged Canadians not just to double check and respond to misinformation and disinformation but to actively spread relevant information they knew was reliable such as public health messaging,” said a project summary. Media Smarts of Ottawa, the federal contractor, was paid $369,975 for the project titled Critical Thinking In The Digital Age: Countering Coronavirus Misinformation. It encouraged media and the public to avoid questioning government advisories.“Our review drew on literature on social norms which established that a very small number of dissenting voices, in some cases even just one, can weaken the power of a normative belief,” wrote researchers.“For this reason we made a central part of our messaging the idea that any response to misinformation or disinformation including very low risk examples such as asking a question could have a significant impact.”The contractor ran a Check First, Share After campaign encouraging media and the public to closely follow government announcements. Even non-government “experts” who criticized federal advisories were suspect, it said: “Trust information from official government sites.”“What are trusted and expert sources?” it asked. “A trusted source has a good track record and a clear process for getting facts right like a reputable news organization. An expert source like a recognized scientist or health expert has knowledge of that specific topic. Being an expert in one area doesn’t make someone an expert in everything. Would you ask a psychiatrist to replace a filling?”Unquestioning compliance with federal advisories was most effective if depicted as a core Canadian value, said the project summary. “Our project associated the accuracy mindset with the importance of doing good for others, appealing to values identified in our review as being important to Canadians such as equality, compassion and pride,” wrote researchers. “Doing so helped to prevent the campaign or the issue from being perceived by the public in partisan and political terms as it was communicated in the context of shared values.”Project managers boasted of media interest. “A brief for social media influencers was developed and outreach was conducted with potential influencers,” they wrote. “Over 50 influencers committed to promote the campaign with over 160 posts.” The 50 influencers were not named.“There was media coverage about the campaign in a number of media outlets including CTV, CBC and Radio-Canada,” said a project summary. Media Smarts “conducted numerous interviews” and inspired articles and editorials published in the Globe & Mail, Toronto Star, La Presse and Halifax Examiner, it said: “A marketing and communications firm was contacted to develop the public awareness campaign.”MP Gould, now Government House Leader, has declined multiple requests for comment on Access To Information records on the program she called a “digital citizen initiative” to promote fact-checking of news and information. “By building their skills Canadians can better understand online deceptive practices,” Gould said in launching the $19.4 million program.
