Latest news with #OnlineNewsAct
National Observer
15-05-2025
- Politics
- National Observer
Separatists, Silos, and the Battle for Canada's Future
With the federal election behind us and America's interest in annexing Canada apparently on hold for the time being, it's tempting to think the worst of the recent crisis is behind us. My fear is that the real battle has only just begun. Alberta's increasingly noisy separatist movement, and Premier Danielle Smith's willingness to amplify and enable it, creates a clear fissure that Donald Trump could exploit. The recent election helped expose the vulnerabilities in our informational ecosystem, ones that can and will be weaponized by foreign and domestic political actors. And our social media platforms continue to isolate Canadians in their own self-imposed silos, ones where things like facts and nuance barely stand a chance. This is precisely why our Climate Solutions Reporting Project has become more vital than ever. As these information battles intensify, climate journalism stands as a crucial counterweight to misinformation and division. We've set an ambitious goal of raising $150,000 by May 22 to expand this essential reporting, but we can't get there without your support. Your contribution, pays for journalism that cuts through these silos and builds the informed consensus we desperately need in these uncertain times. If Mark Carney government cares as much about protecting Canada's cultural and territorial sovereignty as it claimed during the recent election campaign, it will have to do more than just protect the status quo here. It has to meaningfully reinvest in the CBC and redirect its focus towards protecting our access to reliable news and information. It needs to crack down more aggressively on foreign-funded influence campaigns and the useful idiots who advance and amplify them domestically. And it should probably re-assess the value of its Online News Act, one that has only served to damage the access many Canadians have to news. But there are also things you can do to protect Canada from these malign and malicious forces. And yes, one of them is subscribing to Canada's National Observer. Like most online publications, we increasingly depend on subscribers to fund our journalism and share our work. And while other outlets might lean on techniques like rage-farming to drive their engagement and support, CNO is fact-based reporting. By supporting independent journalism you're helping expand an ecosystem where the facts are checked, the details matter, and the noisiest voices (present company excluded, perhaps) don't get all of the oxygen. With each subscription you're helping build a place where we can talk about the country we want to build and share, and creating cultural momentum that becomes more irrepressible with each additional voice.
Epoch Times
10-05-2025
- Business
- Epoch Times
More Than 100 Media Outlets Have Received $22.2M in Google Payments: Journalism Group
Almost $22.2 million in Google payments have made their way to 108 Canadian news outlets, says the organization distributing money the tech giant agreed to give media businesses in exchange for an exemption from the Online News Act. The Canadian Journalism Collective announced Wednesday that the top recipients, who received more than $1 million each, include Postmedia, the Globe and Mail, Metroland Media Group, La Presse, Coopérative nationale de l'information indépendante, Black Press Group and The Canadian Press. About 100 other organizations received smaller amounts, many of which reached six figures. The payments were issued by April 23 and make up sixty percent of the totals organizations will each receive, with two more tranches expected to flow by the end of the year. The money is part of the $100 million in payments Google will make annually in order to secure a five-year exemption to the Online News Act, which is meant to help journalism recoup losses incurred in part by tech platforms. Sarah Spring, executive director of the collective, touted the payments as a way of ensuring 'Big Tech compensates news media for their journalism equitably and fairly across Canada's news ecosystem.' Related Stories 4/23/2025 4/3/2025 'It's a historic investment that is empowering a broad range of voices and setting new democratic precedents in media funding and transparency,' she said in a press release. About $98 million of the cash Google is handing over this year will make its way to journalism organizations with $2 million being held back for administrative fees, said Spring. CBC will get seven percent of the total, equating to roughly $6.8 million. Broadcasters will split a pool of $29.4 million, or about 30 percent of the fund, Spring said. Publishers will split the remainder of around $61.7 million. Their totals will likely rise beyond current estimates when the collective works out whether any applicant outlets are ineligible, allowing previously earmarked money to flow to the media businesses that meet requirements. The collective says it will continue to publish the names of recipients of the money and how much they were given every two weeks. Eligible publishers were previously told by the collective that they will likely receive about $13,798 per full-time equivalent journalist employed based on a 2,000-hour year. Broadcasters were estimated to receive about $6,806 per eligible worker. That equates to $6.90 per claimed hour for publishers and $3.40 per hour for broadcasters. Industry group News Media Canada pegged the amount even higher, with publishers getting between $18,000 and $20,000 per journalist. It said its estimates were bigger because it factored in ineligible organizations. Qualifying organizations had to meet several criteria: they must operate in Canada, have two or more journalists in the country and be a member of a recognized journalistic association or follow a code of ethics ensuring fairness, independence and rigour are applied to reporting. The Online News Act, which helped determine the criteria, is meant to extract compensation from search engine and social media companies with a total annual global revenue of $1 billion or more and 20 million or more Canadian average monthly unique visitors or average monthly active users. Meta, which owns Facebook and Instagram, is also subject to the law, but decided to block access to Canadian news on its platforms to avoid having to make payments.
Winnipeg Free Press
30-04-2025
- Business
- Winnipeg Free Press
More than 100 media outlets have received $22.2M in Google payments: journalism group
The organization administering the money Google agreed to give Canadian news outlets in exchange for an exemption from the Online News Act says almost $22.2 million in payments have made their way to 108 media businesses. The Canadian Journalism Collective says the top recipients, who received more than $1 million each, include Postmedia, the Globe and Mail, Metroland Media Group, La Presse, Coopérative nationale de l'information indépendante, Black Press Group and The Canadian Press. About 100 other organizations received smaller amounts, with many reaching six figures. The payments made by April 23 make up 60 per cent of the total they will each receive by the end of the year. The money is part of the $100 million in annual payments Google will make in order to secure a five-year exemption to the Online News Act, which is meant to help journalism recoup losses incurred in part by tech platforms. During Elections Get campaign news, insight, analysis and commentary delivered to your inbox during Canada's 2025 election. The collective says it will continue to publish the names of recipients of the money and how much they were given every two weeks. This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 30, 2025.
Time of India
25-04-2025
- Politics
- Time of India
AI ‘Tsunami' hits Canadian election online, but voter impact limited
As Canadians head to the polls, a silent battle rages online, where artificial intelligence is crafting a new reality for voters. Despite its potential for manipulation, however, experts suggest its impact on the election remains surprisingly muted. #Pahalgam Terrorist Attack India pulled the plug on IWT when Pakistanis are fighting over water What makes this India-Pakistan standoff more dangerous than past ones The problem of Pakistan couldn't have come at a worse time for D-St "It feels 'Black Mirror'-esque, it feels dystopian," Aengus Bridgman, a researcher at the Media Ecosystem Observatory (MEO), said, describing the unprecedented wave of AI-generated content flooding Canada 's online election landscape. The MEO, tracking elections-related social media activity, has labeled this federal election campaign the most "dystopian" in Canadian history. 5 5 Next Stay Playback speed 1x Normal Back 0.25x 0.5x 1x Normal 1.5x 2x 5 5 / Skip Ads by by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like A câmera de Segurança Mais moderna do Mercado por até 40% Off Alarme Verisure Ver oferta Undo "We don't have any evidence yet that Canadians are being manipulated or were convinced of things that are not true," Bridgman, also a McGill University professor, notes. However, he cautions, "This is absolutely a concern, and could occur, but it hasn't yet. There's just tons of generative AI content that we've seen." Live Events AI-generated content, including deepfake videos and memes, impersonated legitimate news sources to promote fraudulent investment schemes, and even repurposed Facebook buy and sell pages for political advocacy. "News is not available on that platform, but AI was pretending to be news," Bridgman explained. This digital manipulation filled the news vacuum created by the Online News Act, which forced Meta to block news content in Canada. "Meta has somehow decided that this is OK," Bridgman said, expressing concern over the platform's moderation. However, Meta spokesperson Julia Perreira countered, "We have around 40,000 people working on safety and security issues globally at Meta," highlighting their efforts to combat misinformation. Bridgman also noted a silver lining: Canadians are increasingly aware of online manipulation. "Canadians are much more aware of and concerned about, for example, foreign interference, the role of deepfakes and manipulated content online than previously," he observed. This awareness has led to increased engagement with legitimate Canadian news websites. The MEO's research also revealed distinct platform usage among political actors. "It's one of the most notable shifts in this election," Bridgman said, pointing to the rise of platforms like Bluesky and TikTok. He noted a partisan divide, with Liberals dominating Bluesky and Conservatives finding more traction on X and Instagram. This platform fragmentation, Bridgman warns, could exacerbate political polarization. "I'm very concerned about the online information ecosystem," he said. "We're kind of in an interesting moment." The MEO, funded by the Department of Canadian Heritage and other foundations, analyzed roughly 5,000 accounts across various social media platforms, including YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Bluesky, and Telegram, to understand the evolving digital landscape of Canadian politics.
Time of India
23-04-2025
- Politics
- Time of India
Pierre Poilievre vows to dismantle illegal encampments as Canada heads to polls within a week
Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre spoke to reporters on the newly released Conservative election platform and the controversial Online News Act. During a live appearance, Poilievre also pledged to dismantle illegal encampments across Canada, framing it as a key priority ahead of the national election set to take place within a week. Show more Show less
