New Democratic Party

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For those that seek a future that brings together the best of the insights and objectives of people who, within the social democratic and democratic socialist traditions, have worked through farmer, labour, co-operative, feminist, human rights and environmental movements, and with First Nations, Métis and Inuit peoples, to build a more just, equal, and sustainable Canada within a global community dedicated to the same goals.

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NDP MP Angus calls for investigation into Elon Musk over potential election interference (www.cbc.ca)

submitted 3 months ago by recursive_recursion to c/ndp

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cross-posted from: https://beehaw.org/post/18182166

New Democrat MP Charlie Angus is calling on Elections Canada to launch an investigation into Elon Musk and his social media platform X, saying he is concerned about potential interference by the tech billionaire in the next federal election.

In a two-page letter to Chief Electoral Officer Stéphane Perrault, Angus said Musk has been playing a role in recent elections in a variety of countries, donating millions of dollars to conservative candidates and using X, formerly known as Twitter, to amplify the political messages of candidates he favours.

"He has formed alliances with right-wing populist leaders, amplified extremist influencers and spread hate disinformation towards marginal groups," Angus wrote.

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[–] Sturgist 3 points 3 months ago

So I've gone through and picked out a few quotes I think are important to discuss, any emphasis is mine.

Angus wrote that X "serves as a pathway for Russian misinformation and the rise of hate and threats in Canada. Given X's huge power, any overt efforts by Mr. Musk to support a particular party or leader could easily impact our electoral integrity."

We've seen the effects of this through the pandemic, and after, the growth of the Far Right, and the Tories pandering to that demographic, fueling the hateful rhetoric and in Alberta's case instituting laws that verifiably damage the human rights of the most vulnerable people in our society.

Angus's letter comes two weeks after Meta owner Mark Zuckerberg announced that his social media platforms like Facebook and Instagram would move away from fact-checking in the U.S. and would ease content restrictions worldwide — something experts say could make it easier for online misinformation and foreign interference to influence the next Canadian election.

This, to be fair....they never really did anything about actually problematic posts. From some reporting I've seen Meta platforms are a hotbed of paedophilia groups, white national organisations and through the actions or inactions of moderation have enabled at least one brutal coup.(Citation to come later when I have more time)

"We understand that in the current context, people might have questions about what may or may not constitute foreign interference," McKenna wrote in an emailed response. "We should note that other than a few specific exceptions, under the Canada Elections Act, all individuals, Canadian or non-Canadian, are free to express their views on any topic."

There's been reports from people who say they are ex/current employees of twitter showing what looks to be algorithms being weighted heavily in Trump's favour. I wouldn't be surprised in the least if Melon Husk does the same thing for Pierre.

"There is this issue with the primary way that political elites and politicians continue to use X as the main platform and that is controlled and distorted by one individual who is not necessarily acting with Canada's best interests at heart," Bridgman said in an interview.

There's still the issue that some communities are getting all their communication from the local government on Twitter and Facebook. This should have never been the case, and the fact that it still happens is an absolute joke. No one should have to look at FB or Twitter to see if they need to be evacuated, or to find the minutes for the last school board meeting. Another side of this coin is the rampant destruction of small town journalism. Local papers across the country are being bought up, shuttered, and replaced with VC vetted slop.

"I think this is something that every Canadian should be worried about going into the next election."

Excuse my language, but.... you're fucking right it's something we should be worried about.

Bridgman said Musk has described X as a platform for free speech, but in reality his control of X is considerable.

He's only as much of a "Free Speech Absolutist" as long as he can spout racist, fascist, misogynistic and bigoted with being pulled up.