June 24, 2024 - OTTAWA - The Cable Public Affairs Channel (CPAC) is pleased to announce a two-part series entitled Disinformation and Democracy where analysts, academics, journalists, activists, and politicians assess the effect of disinformation on our democracy.
Experts studying mis-and disinformation share their insights on the impact and spread of disinformation, and its potential amplification through social media and the use of artificial intelligence.
The special also looks at how to establish guardrails and find solutions to counter the negative effects of disinformation, with an emphasis on the role of media and citizen engagement.
Detecting Disinformation for Democracy, the first of CPAC’s two-part series Disinformation and Democracy, airs on June 27th at 7 PM ET / 4 PM PT on CPAC and cpac.ca.
This look at the global state of democracy includes interviews with prominent figures including Jonatan Vseviov, Secretary General Estonia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs; Margaret Sullivan, Columnist, The Guardian; BBC’s Disinformation and Social Media Correspondent Marianna Spring; Founder and Director of DisinfoWatch Marcus Kolga; Bellingcat Founder and Creative Director Eliot Higgins; Editor and CEO of Tech Policy Press Justin Hendrix; Data engineer and whistleblower Frances Haugen; and Executive Director of the Dais at Toronto Metropolitan University Karim Bardeesy.
“There is a risk that democracy will cease to work. If people lose trust in democratic institutions… the core institutions of our government, if we start losing that, then we have a problem. And I think all around the free world, we’re seeing this problem rather increase. And this has to do with not just government institutions, but, for instance, the institutions of the media…. we better take all of this seriously,” Jonatan Vseviov, Secretary General Estonia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, told CPAC.
Funded in part by the Department of Canadian Heritage’s Digital Citizen Contribution Program, the Disinformation and Democracy series is anchored by nationwide data on Canadians’ perceptions of democracy, misinformation and disinformation.
The second part of the Disinformation and Democracy series launching this fall, is a special town hall to address the alarming rise of cyberbullying and online violence, with a focus on current approaches to building citizens’ resilience to online harms.
“In a world fractured by extreme polarization in the political arena and the continued erosion of trust in the media, the integrity of our democratic institutions hinges on having informed and engaged citizens,” said Christa Dickenson, President and CEO of CPAC. “Through this series, we aim to shine a light on the critical challenges posed by disinformation and provide our audience with the tools they need to safeguard democracy.”
About CPAC:
CPAC is an independent, not-for-profit, commercial-free, bilingual media organization that connects Canadians to their democracy. On its broadcast television channel, website, and social media platforms, CPAC delivers the most comprehensive coverage of the people and events that shape Canadian public policy. Its core programming includes the complete televised proceedings of Canada’s Parliament and in-depth coverage of key political events and public policy debates.
Unique to CPAC is its digital offering, which includes up to 14 simultaneous live streams and a video archive boasting over 60,000 hours of parliamentary and public affairs content.
Media contact
For media inquiries, please contact Christina Devine, CPAC Manager of Communications and Marketing: cdevine@cpac.ca or 613‑617‑8319.
