Pyramid Power: How Hate Spreads Online
The last few weeks have shed an unprecedented light on the use of digital media to spread and inspire hatred. Michael Zehaf-Bibeau, the perpetrator in the attacks on Canada’s National War Memorial and Parliament buildings, appears to have been motivated in part by exposure to online postings by a self-described member of the Islamic state[1], and the Federal government has already stated that it intends to create tools to remove online content that promotes the “proliferation of terrorism.”[2]
Cyberbullying: The Role of Witnesses
Witnesses play a critical role when they witness acts and forms of bullying” and may suffer negative effects that are as bad as or worse than those suffered by the target. At the same time, there is evidence that youth who witness some kinds of cyberbullying may actually be more likely to perpetrate it themselves later.
Making Your Voice Heard: A Media Toolkit for Youth
Making Your Voice Heard: A Media Toolkit for Youth is designed to help young people understand how the news industry works, why youth stereotyping happens and how they can access media to get positive youth voices and stories heard.
Stand up to Bullying on Pink Shirt Day
On February 25, we’ll be celebrating Pink Shirt Day – a day dedicated to raising awareness around bullying, giving young people the tools they need to stand up to bullies and teaching them how to step in when they see it happening. To help you mark the day, we’ve put together a list of resources.
Screen-Free Week
Screen-Free Week is an annual event that traditionally takes place in May. Each year people from around the world make a conscious decision to turn off screens of all kinds for the week.
Racial and Cultural Diversity in The Newsroom
In the same way that Canadian news reporting does not reflect Canada’s multiculturalism, racial diversity ‘behind the scenes’ of news media is similarly disproportionate. Almost a quarter of the Canadian population identifies as a member of what Statistics Canada refers to as a “visible minority,” and while a 2021 study found a similar rate of representation in newsrooms, eight in ten Canadian newsrooms have no racialized journalists in leadership roles.
Indigenous people in the news
More than anything else in media, news coverage influences what people and which issues are part of the national conversation and how those issues are talked about.[1] When it comes to Indigenous people and communities, constitutional issues, forest fires, poverty, sexual abuse and drug addiction sometimes appear to be the only topics are reported in the news.
Media portrayals of missing and murdered Indigenous women
That Indigenous women are likely to be victims of violence is not news: Indigenous women aged 25 to 44 are five times more likely to suffer a violent death than other women in Canada.