Politique canadienne

A16(a) - Media and Politics

Date: Jun 5 | Heure: 08:30am to 10:00am | Salle:

Chair/Président/Présidente : Mireille Lalancette (Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières)

Discussant/Commentateur/Commentatrice : Mireille Lalancette (Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières)

Beyond the Normative Debates: Is There a Consensus on Basic Standards for News Reporting?: Simon Thibault (Universite de Montreal), Ivor Shapiro (Toronto Metropolitan University), Philippa Spoel (Laurentian University), Lauren Dwyer (Mount Royal University)
Abstract: In the wake of the Black Lives Matter movement, voices within the journalistic profession rose to challenge long-held norms of journalistic practice. Intense debates over journalistic objectivity, neutrality, and impartiality between critics and defenders of established norms have revealed significant divides in academic and practitioner circles in Canada and beyond (e.g., Cardinal, 2020; Lowery, 2020; Rosenstiel, 2020; Schmidt, 2024). These divisions come at a time when information disorder and disrupted news consumption have eroded public confidence in the reliability of information about public affairs in Canada and other countries (Brin & Charlton, 2023; Edelman Trust Barometer, 2023; Fletcher & Nielsen, 2019). Given this context, how can citizens regain confidence in the news when journalists themselves appear divided on the standards that define their profession? To address this question, a team of researchers from six universities is investigating whether core standards for journalistic news-reporting can be identified and reach consensus. Using purposive sampling, we analyzed 72 documents, including prominent codes of journalistic ethics, seminal works on journalism practice, and recent critiques of journalistic norms. Drawing on Braun & Clarke’s (2006) approach, we conducted a thematic analysis that identified standards around which consensus exists, as well as areas of contention. Our paper will present these findings and outline plans for a second phase, during which we will assess the extent to which journalists in Canada adhere to these standards through a survey — a meaningful contribution to the literature on media trust as well as to the field of political communication.

Replies From the Locals: An Analysis of Local Digital Engagement During the 2021 Canadian Federal Election: Andrew Mattan (Carleton University)
Abstract: Over the past quarter-century, evolving digital technologies have altered the ways in which political content is both disseminated and consumed (Small et al., 2014). Of these new technologies, social media—such as X (formerly Twitter)—have been celebrated for their democratising potential; in fact, scholars have argued that these digital tools have the ability to establish two-way communication between constituents and their representatives (Gibson and Ward, 2000). However, much of the research concerning the use of social media by political actors has indicated it is falling short of its democratic promise. Rather than engaging in bidirectional exchanges with citizens, politicians and parties are using social media as a broadcast medium (Jungherr, 2016). These conclusions must be taken with caution as they focus almost exclusively on the national level; indeed, the use of these platforms by the local level remains largely unknown. This paper will address this lacuna by examining the use of X by local candidates during the 2021 Canadian federal election. More specifically, through a content analysis of X posts, it will investigate the constituency level digital campaign by addressing two questions: how or to what extent are local candidates using X for bidirectional interactions with citizens? And what factors (e.g., gender, age, and party) can explain this interaction? This study aims to make a theoretical contribution by examining digital engagement at the local level.

The Digital Political Ads Registry in Canada: An Assessment: Tamara A. Small (University of Guelph)
Abstract: Digital political advertising has become a prominent feature of election campaigns in many countries including Canada (Dommett et al. 2024). Digital political advertising is defined as interactive content, placed online for a fee (Fowler, Franz, and Ridout 2020). This could include content appearing in one’s social media feed, a pre-roll before online video, a banner or page takeover on more traditional websites, or search advertising. Digital ads give political actors a powerful new tool to communicate with and target voters (Mattan and Small 2022). There is a small but growing literature on digital political advertising many political contexts including Canada. As part of attempts to address misinformation and disinformation, the Canadian government, as part of the Election Modernization Act, began regulating digital platforms in order to bring transparency to who is purchasing online advertising. More specific, the Act requires online platforms to establish an advertising registry, which includes an electronic copy of every political advertisement posted to the platform. This could include ads purchased by a political party, registered association, nomination contestant, candidate or potential candidate, or registered third party. This paper takes advantage of this unique data source to develop a deeper understanding of this understudied side of digital politics in Canada. Using content analysis, this paper seeks to assess the communicative and targeting strategies by analyzing digital ads produced in the 2021 federal election. Moreover, the paper seeks to assess the extent to which the newly created online registry model achieves its policy objectives.

Cross-Border Chinese Stories: Tracing the Path of CCP Propaganda in Canada: Yu-Chen Chen (York University), Ethel Tungohan (York University)
Abstract: The federal government’s March 2023 announcement of a “Consultation on a Foreign Influence Transparency Registry” elicited two diametrically opposed mobilizations among Chinese-speaking migrant communities. Some members launched a petition to promote the bill, as they believed that protecting the diaspora from interference and malicious targeting by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) is an urgent issue, while others warned of the risks of increased anti-Chinese racism, embarking instead on a campaign of opposition. But the puzzle that runs through both responses is: Why do Chinese-speaking migrant communities immediately associate countering foreign interference with CCP interference or anti-Chinese racism? I propose a partial explanation in that authoritarian state-diffused online narratives are intentionally blurring the line between foreign state interference and anti-diaspora discrimination. My research reveals that CCP propaganda has adapted to and weaponized the idea of anti-Chinese sentiment, which has been growing in the wake of COVID-19 and a series of diplomatic incidents between Canada and China. Previous scholarship on the diasporic policy of authoritarian regimes illuminates that CCP propaganda has found a way to reach diaspora audiences directly and, in some cases, other Chinese-speaking migrant groups as well in an effort to tell more “Chinese stories.” However, existing literature has yet to provide a specific path of how the CCP has been telling these stories in Canada. Through discourse and content analysis of news releases in Chinese state-owned media, Chinese language media and discussion in online forums based in Canada, as well as the social media accounts of Canadian politicians, this research aims to build a propagation path for “Chinese stories” in Canada. Its findings can help inform policy solutions that achieve government securitization objectives without alienating or victimizing the ethnic communities being implicated.