Access to Information records show researchers were paid nearly $370,000 in 2019 to discourage the media and the public from questioning authority in “a fact-checking program” launched by then-Democratic Institutions Minister Karina Gould.
“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 summary of the project, according to Blacklock’s Reporter.
Media Smarts of Ottawa was paid $369,975 for the project titled Critical Thinking In The Digital Age: Countering Coronavirus Misinformation, the report said.
The project saw researchers spread the message of invoking Canadian values rather than be seen as Liberal partisans and 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.”
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Gould, now Government House Leader for the federal Liberals, has declined multiple requests for comment 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.