Platform Governance
Researching how platform policies, algorithms, and design choices affect the information environment. Evaluating the impact of content moderation and news distribution policies.
12 publications
2025
Power shift: The rise of political influencers in Canada
Zeynep Pehlivan, Junyan Zhu, Chris Ross + 5 more
Research demonstrating that political influencers have become central figures in Canada's online political discourse, fundamentally altering information flow dynamics.
Building a Media Ecosystem Observatory from Scratch: Infrastructure, Methodology, and Insights
Zeynep Pehlivan, Saewon Park, Alexei Sisulu Abrahams + 3 more
This paper describes the design, implementation, and operation of the Media Ecosystem Observatory — a large-scale infrastructure for monitoring Canada's information environment across multiple digital platforms.
The Canadian Information Ecosystem during the 2025 Federal Election
Aengus Bridgman, Jennie Phillips, Alexei Abrahams + 38 more
Comprehensive report on Canada's 2025 federal election information ecosystem. Concludes that while election integrity was upheld, Canada's democratic resilience is weakening under pressure from manipulation and polarization.
briefLike it or Not: The Changing Canadian Information EcosystemSejal Davla · 2025paperCan-PolNews: A Multi-Platform Dataset of Political Discourse in CanadaSaewon Park · 20252024
Russian Funding of US and Canadian Political Influencers
Aengus Bridgman, Alexei Abrahams, Jennie Phillips + 5 more
Initial notification documenting the DOJ indictment of two Russian nationals for funding Tenet Media, with Canadian influencer Lauren Chen and Liam Donovan allegedly receiving nearly $10 million USD from RT.
briefAugust 3 Bot Activity on X Related to Rally in Kirkland LakeAengus Bridgman · 2024Old News, New Reality: A Year of Meta's News Ban in Canada
Sara Parker, Christopher Ross, Zeynep Pehlivan + 1 more
An assessment of the impact of Meta's news ban in Canada one year after implementation, examining changes in information access, news consumption patterns, and platform dynamics.
2020
The causes and consequences of COVID-19 misperceptions: Understanding the role of news and social media
Aengus Bridgman, Eric Merkley, Peter John Loewen + 3 more
An examination of COVID-19 misperceptions in Canada, finding that social media consumption was associated with greater misperceptions while traditional news media consumption was associated with more accurate beliefs.
reportLessons in Resilience: Canada's Digital Media Ecosystem and the 2019 ElectionTaylor Owen · 2020