40% of Canadians struggle to differentiate between truth and misinformation in news
TORONTO – The Canadian Journalism Foundation (CJF) is ramping up its fight against fake news after receiving a $1 million grant from the Google News Initiative on Thursday.
The funds will be used to expand the CJF’s NewsWise program that seeks to help all Canadians understand how to find and identify authentic news from misinformation through tools such as interactive PSAs and other digital content. CJF added that it aims to make the NewsWise programming available in advance of this year's federal election to help Canadians gauge the reliability of the information they're consuming
The announcement dovetails with a new poll commissioned by the CJF that found that 40% of Canadians report finding it difficult to distinguish between truth and misinformation in the news. Conducted by Earnscliffe Strategy Group, the research shows that more than half of respondents (53%) have come across stories where the facts were twisted to push an agenda, with 46% reporting that they also saw headlines that looked like news but turned out to be paid content or ads. When asked if this confusion is leading people to not know which politicians to trust, 85% said that they strongly agreed or agreed, up from 56% in 2018.
"This confusion creates an erosion of trust that is a very real threat to the foundation of our democracy," said CJF president and executive director Natalie Turvey, in the announcement. "Manipulation and misinformation sow many seeds; from distrust of leaders and unfounded damages to reputations to promoting hatred and recruitment of people to extremist groups. We are deeply grateful to the Google News Initiative for supporting our news literacy effort and for recognizing the value of the CJF's work."
CJF is already delivering its NewsWise student news literacy program to Canadian students in grades 5-12 to help them cultivate habits of news consumption and critical-thinking that support informed citizenship in the digital age, thanks to a grant from the Google News Initiative in 2017.
"To be an engaged citizen is to have access to quality journalism," added Google News VP Richard Gingras. "That's why we're thrilled to support the Canadian Journalism Foundation in expanding NewsWise, so that Canadians of all ages understand how to find and filter authoritative information online. News literacy is fundamental to a healthy democracy and a central pillar of the Google News Initiative."
