Canada's Online News Act left rural communities without trusted sources of information during dangerous wildfires after Meta responded to the legislation by blocking Canadian news on Facebook and Instagram, according to a report submitted to the House of Commons heritage committee.The University of British Columbia study concluded Parliament's 2023 passage of Bill C-18 had unintended consequences, particularly in communities where Facebook had become a primary source of local information during emergencies.Blacklock's Reporter says Bill C-18 requires large digital platforms to compensate eligible Canadian news organizations for making news content available. Meta Platforms Inc. responded by blocking news content on Facebook and Instagram in Canada.Researchers examining coverage of 2023 British Columbia wildfires said the resulting news blackout had significant consequences for rural communities."Rural B.C. communities lost access to credible journalism at the precise moment they needed it most, with direct and documented consequences for community trust, emergency compliance and public safety," researchers wrote.The report, When Good Intentions Cause Harm: The Online News Act, Meta's News Ban And Public Safety During Wildfire Emergencies, examined wildfire coverage in selected B.C. municipalities.Researchers said Facebook is a particularly important source of information in rural communities during wildfire emergencies."In rural Canadian communities Facebook is the primary platform for local information during wildfire emergencies," the report said.Once established news organizations disappeared from Facebook feeds, researchers said personal accounts and emotionally charged posts increasingly filled the information gap."The Meta news ban removed credible journalism from this platform entirely," the report said. "What remained was personal testimony which catalyzed community outrage, feeding a conspiratorial framework.".Researchers argued the resulting distrust was not simply a consequence of the severity of the wildfires.Instead, they identified three factors driving the problem: existing distrust of institutions among some rural Canadians, social media algorithms amplifying emotionally charged material and Meta's removal of established journalism from its platforms.The report also criticized mainstream news coverage of the fires, arguing reporters became overly dependent on governments and other "official voices.""Mainstream media coverage made the situation worse," researchers wrote.According to the report, some coverage portrayed residents affected by wildfires as problems for authorities rather than people dealing with an emergency."Media were producing a version of wildfire events in which affected communities were compliance problems rather than people in crisis," the report said.Researchers also pointed to the decline of local journalism as a contributing factor. Fewer reporters with established relationships in rural communities were available to provide first-hand reporting during emergencies, they said.The report noted the decline of local news was itself linked to the loss of advertising revenues that Parliament sought to address through the Online News Act.
