's mayoral race shows municipal politics is just as vulnerable to social media misinformation, as it is at the federal and provincial levels. municipal election coverageDavid Black, a professor of communication at Victoria's Royal Roads University, says as an increasing portion of our lives are lived online, so too is our political discourse. Listen to On the Island's Gregor Craigie interview Professor David Black:As the federal and provincial levels battle fake news and false facts online, new inflammatory ads in Victoria's mayoral campaign show municipal politics are no different. "In the absence of political parties and slates, most municipal political activity is personality centred." Black says while there is a burden on social media users to be critical of what they are consuming, local candidates need to call out false claims — especially when they benefit.

Source: CBC News September 18, 2018 21:22 UTC