• Hacksaw@lemmy.ca
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    1 year ago

    The argument in this article is terrible. Canadians and Canadian journalists are worried about disinformation because the intentional spread of false and misleading information is having a real effect on Canada. All you have to do is look at the insane conspiracies that surrounded masks and vaccines that cost thousands of real Canadian lives to see this has a real effect on Canadians.

    The article tries to create the argument that disinformation isn’t a real problem because:

    • Russia isn’t doing all of it or most of it
    • The use of the word has increased recently in Canada
    • And disinformation isn’t the cause of EVERY PROBLEM, like housing and doctor shortages

    I don’t think anyone is claiming any of those things. That doesn’t make disinformation false or unimportant.

    The article also has a CLEAR and obvious conservative bias. It blames the start of the idea of disinformation as the establishment elites trying to “make sense of the Trump victory”. It praises the “success” of the convoy. It chastises the CBC most of all, and claims the liberal government is funding the rest of Canadian media’s focus on “disinformation”. It praises conservative leaning news sources while bashing liberal leaning ones.

    Then the final argument in the article. It is very clear that the purpose of this article is to generate suspicion and disdain for journalists who flag information as false. Why should journalists not flag false information? Does this not help Canadians separate the truth from falsehoods? Who would benefit from false information spreading unopposed?

    Terrible article, I hope no one falls for this pseudo intellectual bullshit.