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Canadian fact-checkers are pleasantly surprised by a low amount of false electoral content | Poynter

Canadians will elect a new Parliament in two weeks. The incumbent Liberals, led by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, will attempt to retain their majority Oct. 21 against the rival Conservative and New Democratic parties.

Fact-checkers have been pleasantly surprised: Besides some French hoaxes and a few memes that carry misinformation, there hasn’t been a deluge of original false content spreading on digital platforms.

“It’s not the avalanche we thought it would be,” said Eve Beaudin, the Quebec-based reporter who maintains Rumor Detector (Détecteur de rumeurs), a fact-checking website created by the media non-profit Agence Science-Presse.

“(Outside of election season), there’s generally lots of misinformation related to energy issues, some on climate change. And we always have false claims about immigration, health and economics,” she told the IFCN.

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Source: Canadian fact-checkers are pleasantly surprised by a low amount of false electoral content