Researchers studied who’s spreading the most conspiracy theories in Canada. Here’s what they found
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Canadians are becoming more exposed to conspiracy theory content in their social media feeds but it’s only a small number of accounts that is responsible for promoting the vast majority of it, a new study suggests.
Researchers at the Media Ecosystem Observatory (MEO) analyzed more than 14 million posts between 2023 and 2025 across popular online platforms — TikTok, X (formerly known as Twitter), Instagram, and Bluesky — and found there are only about 100 very active Canadian users who account for nearly 70 per cent of conspiratorial content.
“This demonstrates that conspiratorial claims are driven by a small, highly active and visible subset of social media users who exert a disproportionate influence on the information environment,” according to the report released this week.
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The MEO research centre is a partnership between McGill University and the University of Toronto that studies the health of the information ecosystem in Canada.
The study, “Conspiratorial Claims and Institutional Distrust in Canada’s Online Ecosystem,” looked at some of the most widespread anti-institutional conspiratorial claims, including ones about the federal government manipulating data about health threats and climate change to exert control over Canadians, a secretive group of elites known as the “Deep State” holding immense power, and about major Canadian news organizations conspiring with senior government officials to manipulate public opinion.
Read more https://www.ctvnews.ca/montreal/article/researchers-studied-whos-spreading-the-most-conspiracy-theories-in-canada-heres-what-they-found/
Content retrieved from: https://www.ctvnews.ca/montreal/article/researchers-studied-whos-spreading-the-most-conspiracy-theories-in-canada-heres-what-they-found/.
