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"I did consider backing out": This candidate and others face hate in Ontario election

It's not just on the ground, in person — candidates are getting hate online too. The non-partisan Samara Centre for Democracy is trying to track it. The Centre is running a tool called SAMbot, which tracks toxic tweets received by candidates and parties on Twitter.

CBC News
May 22, 2022

Tracking Online Toxicity in #Elnx44

The Samara Centre recently partnered with Areto Labs on a project that tracks the tweets received by incumbents who are running for re-election, to find out how toxic these tweets are and who is receiving them.

Policy Opinions
September 15, 2021

Hostility on the 2021 campaign trail: Defaced campaign signs, toxic tweets and disrupted events.

“People simply are not participating,” said Sabreena Delhon, executive director of The Samara Centre for Democracy. “The ugliness that manifests online and that can then translate into real life is numbing for some people."

Ottawa Citizen
August 31, 2021

‘Toxic’ online posts having negative impact on federal election voters

Sabreena Delhon with the Samara Centre for Democracy tells 680 NEWS that a bot they created analyzed over half a million tweets about the federal election in the first couple weeks of the campaign. The centre found that more than a quarter of the analyzed tweets could be labelled as ‘toxic.’

CityNews Toronto
Aug 31, 2021

A New Report Just Revealed Which Party Leader Is Getting The Most Hate Online Right Now

The study found that a whopping 20% of all tweets related to Canada's federal election campaign trail so far have been "toxic." On top of that, 7% were labelled as "severely toxic," which means they included profane language or even threats.

Narcity
August 30, 2021

Racialized, female candidates more likely to face online abuse during campaign, analysis finds.

The Samara Centre for Democracy and Areto Labs teamed up to create a bot that could analyze tweets that mention political party leaders and incumbent candidates during the 2021 campaign.

CTV News
August 29, 2021

15 Tough Questions Social Sector Leaders Would Ask Federal Candidates In An Election Debate

“People are leaving politics, not entering politics and steering clear of the political conversation because of toxicity online. It is a barrier to civic engagement. What is your party’s response?”

Future of Good
August 27, 2021

Green Leader Paul points out threats targeting her online, calls for accountability

Research done by the Samara Centre for Democracy found that more than a quarter of the 350,000 Twitter comments sent to incumbent candidates during the first week of the federal election campaign were considered toxic.

Globe and Mail
August 26, 2021

La cheffe du Parti vert dénonce les menaces en ligne contre les politiciens.

Une récente recherche réalisée par le Samara Center for Democracy a révélé que plus du quart des 350 000 commentaires sur Twitter envoyés aux candidats sortants au cours de la première semaine de la campagne électorale fédérale étaient considérés comme « toxiques ».

Le Devoir
26 août 2021

Torrent of online ‘toxicity,’ including hate, targeting election candidates: study

Sabreena Delhon, executive director at the Samara Centre for Democracy, said the research, which looked only at Twitter, found 20 per cent of the tweets were on the low or middle end of a “toxicity scale,” containing insults, sexist language or rude comments.

Toronto Star
August 25, 2021

Radio

How toxic was the 2021 election?

We take a look at a new project out of The Samara Centre for Democracy that tracked toxic tweets during the federal election campaign.

CBC Radio: All in a Day with Alan Neal
September 21, 2021

Decision Canada: Tracking online abuse during the election campaign – with AI technology based in Edmonton

Guest: Sabreena Delhon - Executive Director of the Samara Centre for Democracy.

630 CHED Afternooons
Aug 30, 2021

New project tracks toxic tweets aimed at candidates during federal election

A new project from Samara Centre for Democracy and Areto Labs is tracking toxic tweets aimed at incumbent candidates and political party leaders during the federal election. Lana Cuthbertson, CEO of Areto Labs, explains how 'Sambot' works.

CBC Radio: The Morning Edition K-W with Craig Norris
August 24, 2021

Ontario Morning

Sabreena Delhon of the Samara Centre for Democracy tells us about their 'sambot' which will allow them to track toxic comments on Twitter with respect to election campaign.

CBC Radio with Ramraajh Sharvendiran
August 23, 2021

Tracking toxic tweets during the federal election

We'll get the lowdown on a new project tracking toxic tweets aimed at incumbent candidates and political party leaders during the Federal election.

CBC Radio: Edmonton AM with Mark Connolly, Tara McCarthy
August 23, 2021

A new project is tracking toxic tweets aimed at candidates and political parties during the Federal election

Sabreena Delhon, Executive Director, the Samara Centre for Democracy tells guest host Pat Kaniuga about a new project that tracks toxic tweets aimed at candidates during the Federal election.

CBC’s Information Radio – MB
August 23, 2021

Media inquiries can be directed to Jennifer Kou, Communications Manager: jennifer.kou@samaracanada.com.

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