Breaking: CBC/ Radio-Canada investigation identifies Dutch YouTube creators behind Alberta separatist videos getting millions of views. 🧵 #AlbertaSeparatism

With a potential Alberta referendum ahead, we're releasing "Slopaganda," an incident response report documenting a network of inauthentic YouTube channels pushing coordinated, fake Albertan political commentary. 🧵#cdnpoli

We rescheduled Securing Canada's Digital Sovereignty: A New Playbook for Youth Online Safety! Join us on April 30th in Ottawa to hear from youth advocates, policy experts and leading researchers about the current online harms policy landscape and explore potential solutions. 🧵

Are you a Canadian aged 17 –23? Your voice matters in shaping AI & age assurance policy. Following our fourth #GenZAI Forum in Halifax, you can now share your perspective through Make.org's civic dialogue platform here: tinyurl.com/yyzny4mn

Last night in NYC, @jonathanhaidt.bsky.social joined Ava Smithing for a live recording of Left To Their Own Devices, followed by a community showcase of organizations from across the US and Canada that Haidt called "the Woodstock of tech reform." 🧵

Join us in New York City on March 31 for a FREE evening with @jonathanhaidt.bsky.social, bestselling author of The Anxious Generation, in conversation with Ava Smithing, Gen Z host of Left to Their Own Devices. 🧵

Canada's culture minister says it's time for a "serious conversation" about AI and news media. From @anjakaradeglija.bsky.social, @cdnpress.bsky.social (March 17, 2026) 🧵

Data from the Centre's Media Ecosystem Observatory shows that 'looksmaxxing' is on the rise in Canada's online ecosystem, peaking in February following a viral video of Kick streamer Clavicular "getting brutally frame mogged by an ASU frat leader." 🧵

🚨 Due to the severe ice storm forecast for tomorrow and expected travel disruptions, we’ve made the difficult decision to cancel Securing Canada’s Digital Sovereignty: A New Playbook for Youth Online Safety, scheduled for March 11 in Ottawa.

Are you a Gen Z Canadian (17–23)? We want to hear your thoughts on AI & data privacy! We just hosted our third #GenZAI forum, where 100 young Canadians drafted policy recommendations on AI data collection. Thanks to Make.Org, you can join the conversation here: tinyurl.com/yv6jz3rt

MEO researcher Esli Chan spoke about our latest conspiracy brief on iHeart Radio CA's The Andrew Carter Morning Show! Have a listen here: www.iheart.com/podcast/962-...

In the wake of the Tumbler Ridge mass shooting, the Centre's Founding Director @taylorowen.bsky.social and Associate Director of Policy Helen Hayes published a policy memo calling on the Canadian government to scope AI chatbots into a revised Online Harms Act. 🧵

@mathieulavigne.bsky.social spoke with @rorywh.bsky.social from @nationalobserver.com about our latest brief on online conspiracy theories and institutional distrust in Canada, from the Centre's Media Ecosystem Observatory (MEO).

If you're interested in youth online safety, we've got the perfect event for you! Join us on March 11th in Ottawa to hear from youth advocates, policy experts and leading researchers about the current online harms policy landscape and explore potential solutions. 🧵

A new study looking at how conspiracy claims spread on social media found that people who use X, formerly Twitter, are much more likely to both be aware of and believe conspiracy theories. @jenstden.bsky.social reports.

Our newest brief, “Conspiratorial Claims and Institutional Distrust in Canada’s Online Ecosystem,” examines how anti-institutional conspiracy theories circulate online and how widely they resonate with Canadians.🧵 #cdnpoli

How do Canadians feel about governing AI chatbots? Our new policy brief draws on nationally representative survey data from 1,454 Canadians, demonstrating overwhelming public concern across all surveyed risk categories and clear attribution of risk to AI companies.🧵 #cdnpoli

Charlie Kirk's shooting drove widespread awareness, transforming him into a household name in Canada. As polarized online discussions spread, the CDMRN launched a joint-investigation with MEO, @disinfowatch.bsky.social, @dfrlab.bsky.social & @pearl-uoft.bsky.social 🧵 #cdnpoli

🚨 MEO is moving 🚨 Follow @mediatechdemocracy.bsky.social for updates on our information ecosystem research! 🧵

2025 was a pivotal year for AI. As attention turns to 2026, Founding Director at the Centre, @taylorowen.bsky.social, says we're approaching a turning point. As a leading expert on how AI and digital tech are reshaping democracy, here are his top 5 AI predictions for 2026. 🧵

At #AttnGovernOrBeGoverned, Prof. Fen Osler Hampson (@carleton.ca) shared new insights from the Carleton–CIGI–Ipsos Trust in the Internet Global Survey. The data show growing global concern about online privacy and sharply divided trust in AI across regions and types of AI. 🧵

At #AttnGovernOrBeGoverned, @justinhendrix.bsky.social (@techpolicypress.bsky.social) spoke with @milestaylor.bsky.social (former Chief of Staff, U.S. Department of Homeland Security) about the erosion of democratic guardrails and the expanding capacity of executive power in the United States. 🧵

This summer, David Suzuki received attention for his iPolitics interview titled: “‘It’s too late’: David Suzuki says the fight against climate change is lost.” This shift in tone led us to ask: Are Canadians Climate Doomers? @chrispyross.bsky.social 🧵

At #AttnGovernOrBeGoverned, @vassb.bsky.social (Managing Director, @canadianshieldinstitute.ca) asked Marcus Bokkerink (former Chair of the UK Competition & Markets Authority) and @lutherlowe.bsky.social (Head of Public Policy, Y Combinator), what does successful digital market regulation look like?

Some jurisdictions have started regulating AI-enabled fraud. @taylorowen.bsky.social asked @ginasue.bsky.social (Minderoo Centre for Technology & Democracy, Cambridge) and Mediodecci Lustarini (Directorate General of Digital Space Monitoring, Indonesia) what Canada can learn from these models. 🧵

How do fraudsters get away with AI scams? In our second panel, guests Iesha White (Director of Intelligence, @checkmyads.org) and @craigsilverman.bsky.social (Journalist and Misinformation Expert) joined Moderator @davidreevely.bsky.social (@thelogic.co) to answer this question. 🧵

In our first panel, moderator @vassb.bsky.social (Managing Director, @canadianshieldinstitute.ca) spoke with @profjquaid.bsky.social (Professor in the Civil Law Section, University of Ottawa) how advertising technology is reshaping competition, value chains, and sovereignty in Canada. 🧵

To kick us off, we heard opening remarks from our host, @petermacleod.bsky.social (MASS LBP), followed by lightning talks featuring Anya Schiffrin and @abridgman.bsky.social. 🧵

Welcome to Securing Canada's Digital Sovereignty: AI and the Growing Economy of Fraud! We're honoured to convene experts on ad tech, misinformation, digital affairs, and public policy to discuss how AI is transforming the online fraud landscape and what Canada can do about it. 🧵

Securing Canada's Digital Sovereignty: AI and the Growing Economy of Fraud is happening today at 4:30PM at The Global Centre for Pluralism in Ottawa! It's not too late to register, click here to reserve your free tickets: tinyurl.com/fyaakr3n

We recently heard from @garymarcus.bsky.social at #AttnGovernOrBeGoverned, where he argued that we are witnessing an AI bubble. This week, @taylorowen.bsky.social interviewed him on Machines Like Us to discuss whether an alternative AI could save us. Check it out here: youtu.be/Q72flbyc2yQ

Join us in congratulating Helen Hayes (Associate Director, Policy at the Centre) for being named a 2026 recipient of @forbes.com 30 under 30! 🧵 Read her full profile here: www.forbes.com/profile/hele...

Debates over public service media are rising globally. In Canada, the push to defund CBC/Radio-Canada before the 2025 election exposed real vulnerabilities. Parliament approved a funding increase, but the future of our public broadcaster is far from settled. 🧵

Data privacy was a recurring theme at our October conference, #AttnGovernOrBeGoverned. According to the Privacy Commissioner of Canada, Philippe Dufresne, this is a particularly fundamental value for Canadians, with 9/10 expressing deep concerns in OPC surveys. 🧵

Very happy to have been able to contribute to this event, and thanks to @taylorowen.bsky.social and colleagues for producing a stellar event.

AI is ushering a new era of fraud. Join us in Ottawa on December 4th for an evening with global experts, leading policymakers, and regulators to push forward a Canadian agenda on AI-driven financial fraud within the broader AI safety debate. 🧵

What is a democratic technology and what does that actually mean? This was the guiding question that @ivansigal.bsky.social posed to Professor @ethanz.bsky.social and Mark Surman in their panel, Building the Next Generation of Democratic Tech, at #AttnGovernOrBeGoverned. 🧵

At #AttnGovernOrBeGoverned, @jameeljaffer.bsky.social (Executive Director, @knightcolumbia.org), @imranahmed.bsky.social (CEO, @counterhate.com) joined Professor @klonick.bsky.social (St. John’s University School of Law) to discuss the perilous new free speech moment in the U.S. and beyond. 🧵

🤔 What happens when 100 Gen Z youth get together to determine policy recommendations for our AI future? We'll soon find out thanks to Helen Hayes, Associate Director, Policy @mediatechdemocracy.bsky.social. 🎤 Get the full episode now wherever you get your podcasts. cc @jeffmacarthur.bsky.social

Oftentimes, efforts to regulate the tech industry are framed as antithetical to innovation. Baroness Beeban Kidron (Member of the UK House of Lords) argued that the inverse is true in her virtual talk on valuing artists in the age of AI at #AttnGovernOrBeGoverned 🧵

A key debate in discussions about regulating online spaces is how best to frame legislation. At #AttnGovernOrBeGoverned, moderator @damiancollins.bsky.social asked this question to Sasha Havlicek, @alexandrageese.bsky.social, and Sir Jeremy Wright. 🧵

🤩 Busy day in Halifax, but before we hit the stage to record an episode of The AmberMac Show podcast live, here's this week's new episode - released today: podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/g... @jeffmacarthur.bsky.social @marcsaltzman.bsky.social @mediatechdemocracy.bsky.social

In case you needed another reason to check out Left To Their Own Devices, Apple Canada’s editorial team just named it it one of the top 10 best podcasts of 2025! 🧵

Jim Balsillie (former Chair & Co-CEO, Research in Motion) joined us at #AttnGovernOrBeGoverned to address what he calls the "mythical three-headed Cerberus" of surveillance capitalism threatening Canada's democracy. 🧵 #cdnpoli

At #AttnGovernOrBeGoverned, Megan Garcia (Mother, Lawyer, and Advocate) and Meetali Jain (@techjusticelaw.bsky.social) joined Ava Smithing (Young People's Alliance & Centre Youth Fellow) to talk about the latest threat to children online: AI chatbots. 🧵

We sre really looking forward to this online event and this collaboration with the @mediatechdemocracy.bsky.social

We are very excited to partner with @migsinstitute.bsky.social for Digital Defenders: Youth Building Resilience and Change, on Nov. 17th This upcoming seminar will explore how youth respond to challenges of the digital age! 🧵

"Every innovation forces societies to decide if they want to govern technology or to be governed by it. The answer has never been less innovation, but more accountability." This was the reminder that @michaelmcgratheu.bsky.social gave us when opening #AttnGovernOrBeGoverned 🧵

In April, Jim Balsillie (former Chair & Co-CEO, Research in Motion) joined @taylorowen.bsky.social on the Machines Like Us podcast, where he asserted that Canada's problem isn't Trump, "Canada's problem is Canada." At #AttnGovernOrBeGoverned, they reunited to talk about un-capturing democracy. 🧵

At #AttnGovernOrBeGoverned, @yoshuabengio.bsky.social (Co-President & Scientific Director of @law-zero.bsky.social and Founder & Scientific Advisor of @mila-quebec.bsky.social) stressed the need to disentangle transparency of how AI is built versus transparency of what is going on inside the AI. 🧵