Calgary city councillor wants review on impacts of false information
CBC
A city councillor is suggesting the City of Calgary do an external review of how its operations and council decisions are being impacted by false information spread online and through other channels. Coun. Courtney Walcott said he plans to bring forward a motion to council, calling for its support for a review. He said he's not looking for real time fact checking but rather, a review that looks back at the role misinformation played on key issues. Walcott cited two instances in 2024 where factually incorrect information was circulated both online and at in-person meetings regarding major city projects: council's decision to upzone much of the city, and the failed redevelopment proposal for Glenmore Landing. "Looking back on previous years, looking back on major events and finding out how pervasive misinformation and bad information is out there and it's influence on all levels of the public discourse is really important," said Walcott.
Walcott said misinformation is false information that is spread by people who don't know the facts about a situation, while disinformation refers to when people knowingly spread false information.
Malinformation is when people deliberately spread false information with the intent of causing harm, he added.
Walcott said on some occasions, city councillors have continued to cite false information presented to them at council meetings, even after it has been proved incorrect by city administration.
Walcott brought forward his idea for an external review during a meeting of council's audit committee, which discussed how the city's corporate reputation has been damaged by a lack of public trust. The city's top bureaucrat, chief administrative officer David Duckworth, said he'd like to discuss the review idea with city auditor Liz Ormsby. The city's general manager of people, innovation and collaboration services, Chris Arthurs, said her team has been working on the issue of false information.
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