# Media Ecosystem Observatory (MEO)

> The Media Ecosystem Observatory produces rigorous, independent research on Canada's information environment. Based at McGill University.

## Overview

MEO is a research centre that monitors and analyzes Canada's digital media landscape. We track information flows across 7 major platforms (X/Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, TikTok, Telegram, Bluesky) and produce reports, briefs, and peer-reviewed research on misinformation, elections, platform governance, and media ecosystems.

## Key Facts

- Location: McGill University, Montreal, Canada
- Founded: 2019 (as Digital Democracy Project), formalized 2020
- Director: Aengus Bridgman
- Co-Founder: Taylor Owen
- Website: https://meo.ca
- Contact: info@meo.ca
- Languages: English and French (bilingual site)

## Research Focus Areas

1. **Misinformation & Disinformation** — Tracking false information spread, foreign influence operations
2. **Elections & Democracy** — Monitoring information ecosystems during elections
3. **Platform Governance** — How platform policies affect information quality
4. **Media Ecosystem** — Mapping Canada's information environment
5. **Public Health Information** — Health misinformation, vaccine hesitancy

## Partner Institutions

- McGill University (home institution)
- Munk School of Global Affairs & Public Policy, University of Toronto
- Canadian Digital Media Research Network (CDMRN)

## Data Endpoints

All data is available as structured JSON:

- Publications: https://meo.ca/data/publications.json
- Team: https://meo.ca/data/team.json
- Focus Areas: https://meo.ca/data/topics.json
- Media Appearances: https://meo.ca/data/media.json
- Organization Info: https://meo.ca/data/site.json

## Feeds

- Publications RSS: https://meo.ca/feed.xml
- News RSS: https://meo.ca/news-feed.xml
- Sitemap: https://meo.ca/sitemap.xml

## Key Pages (English)

- Home: https://meo.ca/en/
- About: https://meo.ca/en/about/
- Team: https://meo.ca/en/team/
- Publications: https://meo.ca/en/publications/
- Focus Areas: https://meo.ca/en/focus-areas/
- News: https://meo.ca/en/news/
- Data & Tools: https://meo.ca/en/data-tools/
- Contact: https://meo.ca/en/contact/

## Key Pages (French)

- Accueil: https://meo.ca/fr/
- A propos: https://meo.ca/fr/about/
- Equipe: https://meo.ca/fr/team/
- Publications: https://meo.ca/fr/publications/
- Axes de recherche: https://meo.ca/fr/focus-areas/
- Actualites: https://meo.ca/fr/news/
- Donnees et outils: https://meo.ca/fr/data-tools/
- Contact: https://meo.ca/fr/contact/

## Recent Major Publications

- "The Canadian Information Ecosystem during the 2025 Federal Election" (2025)
- "Building a Media Ecosystem Observatory from Scratch" (ICWSM 2025)
- "Russian Funding of US and Canadian Political Influencers" (2024)
- "Old News, New Reality: A Year of Meta's News Ban in Canada" (2024)
- "The Canadian Information Ecosystem" (2023)