To govern Big Tech, listen to those most harmed by it | National Post
March 19, 2021 | Taylor Owen's latest piece for the National Post delves into聽algorithmic bias and the disproportionate harms Big Tech inflicts on people of colour. One piece of the solution? "Amplify聽the diverse voices of those with most knowledge of technology鈥檚 injustices."
Read the article.
Is Big Tech ungovernable? | Globe and Mail
February 26, 2021 |聽It is increasingly clear that the many benefits of digital platforms such as Facebook, Amazon and Google come with significant economic, social and political costs.
New report on protecting democratic expression online | Public Policy Forum
Supported by the Max Bell School's Centre for Media, Technology and Democracy, the Canadian Commission on Democratic Expression has released a new report detailing six recommendations to enable citizens, governments and platforms to deal with online hate speech in Canada.
Trump鈥檚 social-media ban clouds a bigger crisis: the power and systemic failure of Big Tech | The Globe and Mail
January 14, 2021 | In his opinion piece in The Globe and Mail, Max Bell School professor Taylor Owen discusses聽the effects of the recent social-media ban imposed on Donald Trump. Take a look at the article to understand how Trump's de-platforming scratches the surface of the deeper issues plaguing the current online ecosystem.聽
The vaccine will only work if enough people take it | Globe and Mail
January 5, 2020 | While the COVID-19 vaccine offers us an eventual way past the pandemic, many Canadians are unsure about taking or unwilling to take a vaccine. In this Globe and Mail article, Max Bell School Professor Taylor Owen and other researchers at the聽Media Ecosystem Observatory聽unpack the cause聽and solutions to vaccine hesitancy in Canada.
Understanding vaccine hesitancy in Canada: attitudes, beliefs, and the information ecosystem
December 2020 | This new report by the Media Ecosystem Observatory聽looks into vaccine hesitancy in Canada in the lead-up to the development of a vaccine. Key findings included that 65% of Canadians intend to take a vaccine, and that the聽best opportunity to reach those who are unsure is to address important concerns around the safety and effectiveness of the vaccine.
New Centre for Media, Technology and Democracy launched at 香蕉视频鈥檚 Max Bell School of Public Policy
The Centre is McGill鈥檚 focal point on critical research and public debate about the role of media and emerging technologies in shaping democracy and public life
Implications of a Moratorium on Public Use of Facial Recognition Technology in Canada | Tech Informed Policy
August 17, 2020 | Since the start of this year, there have been increasing calls for the Canadian government聽to impose a national moratorium on facial recognition technology. This demand arises from the possibility that law enforcement will use facial recognition聽to discriminate against certain demographics and worsen discrimination in the justice system.
Algorithm 'gatekeepers' undermine democracy and health | Montreal Gazette
August 6, 2020 | Social media and other digital聽platforms have begun to overtake traditional journalism as our primary sources of information. The communications difficulties surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic have聽demonstrated how this trend will prove to have drastic consequences on the reliability of information in our democracies.
COVID-19: Social media users more likely to believe false information
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Montreal, July 29, 2020
A new study led by researchers at 香蕉视频 finds that people who get their news from social media are more likely to have misperceptions about COVID-19. Those that consume more traditional news media have fewer misperceptions and are more likely to follow public health recommendations like social distancing.
Can an ad boycott fix Facebook's hate speech problem? | CBC News
July 6, 2020 | Over 800 companies are pulling their ads from Facebook in response to the Stop Hate for Profit boycott, led by civil rights groups who want to remove hate speech from the platform. Will threatening the company's bottom line motivate them into action? Max Bell School Professor Taylor Owen goes on the CBC's Front Burner to discuss the propagation of hate speech on social media.
COVID-19 pandemic unites Canadians like no other event in recent history: study | CTV News
May 25, 2020 | The study co-led by Professor Taylor Owen found that among Canadians, there is cross-partisan consensus on the threat the virus poses and measures that need to be taken to battle it. The study also found that when there isn鈥檛 a consensus 鈥� which is the case in the United States 鈥� compliance with physical distancing guidelines is undermined, which poses an obvious threat.聽
A Rare Moment of Cross-Partisan Consensus: Elite and Public Response to the COVID-19 Pandemic in Canada | Canadian Journal of Political Science
April 16, 2020 | The COVID-19 pandemic has placed nearly unprecedented pressure on policymakers and citizens alike. Effectively containing the pandemic requires a societal consensus. However, a long line of research in political science has told us that polarization tends to occur on highly salient topics because partisans 鈥渇ollow the leader.鈥� Elite consensus is thus essential to fight the COVID-19 pandemic in Canada.
The Causes and Consequences of COVID-19 Misperceptions: Understanding the Role of News and Social Media | OSF Preprints
May 4, 2020 | This research investigates the relationship between media consumption, misinformation, and important attitudes and behaviours during the COVID-19 pandemic in Canada. Professor Taylor Owen, co-author of this article, finds that comparatively more misinformation circulates on social media platforms, while traditional news media tend to reinforce public health recommendations like social distancing.
Anti-intellectualism and Information Preferences during the COVID-19 Pandemic | OSF Preprints
May 14, 2020 | The COVID-19 pandemic necessitates widespread voluntary and sustained public compliance with expert-guided public health directives, like social or physical distancing. Understanding which citizens seek out and engage with expert messages regarding COVID-19 is thus of central importance. Anti-intellectualism - the generalized distrust of experts and intellectuals 鈥� is likely to be a dominant factor.
