Article link: https://www.nationalobserver.com/2026/02/25/news/conspiracy-content-report-canada.

SS: According to a recent study only 100 users were responsible for almost 70% of online conspiracy posts in Canada. Despite their small numbers these conspiracy theorists have a strong grasp on local politics, with some hijacking the entire local processes and making certain topics such as climate change politically poisonous.

Conspiracy theories about globalist cabals, climate hoaxes and election fraud may seem ubiquitous on social media. But a report published on Monday by the Media Ecosystem Observatory has found that they come from a tiny minority of users.

According to the report, just 100 users were responsible for almost 70 per cent of online conspiracy posts from influential accounts they examined in Canada.

The researchers analyzed over 14 million social media posts from accounts in Canada, and found that 87 per cent of conspiratorial claims come from influencers. Users on Elon Musk’s X were the biggest culprits.

These influencers are having an outsized impact in the physical world as well as online. 

Local governments across Canada are facing a wave of “larger scale conspiracy theories” overwhelming council meetings, according to Zoe Grams, executive director of Climate Caucus. 

This has led some politicians to avoid mentioning climate change altogether for fear of provoking a backlash.

“It’s about the permission structure of how we treat each other and how we treat our democratic institutions, which I think conspiracy theories are really undermining,” said Grams.

The ‘perception gap’

The report from the Media Ecosystem Observatory, a collaboration between McGill University and the University of Toronto, did not name the accounts responsible for spreading conspiracy theories. But an analyst at the organization gave some clues.

“A lot of them are part of a network. They often know each other and engage with each other’s content,” said Mathieu Lavigne. 

While the conspiracy theory posts were viewed billions of times, only a small minority of Canadians fell for them.

The researchers polled a nationally representative sample of almost 1,500 Canadians.

Only eight per cent reported believing that climate change was a hoax, despite 29 per cent of Canadians being exposed to this claim. The most commonly held conspiracy belief was in “gender indoctrination,” (the belief that schools are indoctrinating kids with radical gender ideology) and was held by 21 per cent of respondents.

But for Grams, a small minority of true believers can have a momentous impact on local politics.

“In small and mid-sized communities, the folks who seriously believe these conspiracy theories are also being very loud about it,” she said.

This intensity, as well as the widespread visibility of conspiracy theories on social media, influence what Canadians view as normal and socially acceptable.

“Even if you don't quite believe the conspiracy theory, if you're hearing it all the time then I think there's a chance that you're just going to kind of downplay the importance of solutions and the importance of prioritizing climate,” said Grams.

There is a well-established “perception gap” between what we think others believe and what they actually believe. A recent poll by ReClimate found that 42 per cent of Canadians think about addressing climate change at least weekly, and yet they believe only 26 per cent of their neighbours do the same. Similarly, research has found as many as 89 per cent of people want more action on climate change — yet those 89 per cent tend to believe they’re in the minority.

Conspiracies further warp our perception of what really matters to Canadians, according to Lavigne. And they often come in bundles.

The Media Ecosystem Observatory report found that influencers often promote multiple different conspiracy theories, creating an interconnected web of beliefs.

This chimes with what Grams is hearing from politicians. Public sentiment about wildfire management policy may become tangled in conspiracy theories about the World Economic Forum, media elites and the “feminization” of culture. “It becomes incredibly difficult to have a conversation about that particular topic,” said Grams.

This creates a tense atmosphere. According to Grams, some mayors have started self-censoring due to a “growing fear” of backlash from conspiracy-minded constituents.

“People are actually changing how they speak in their community,” she said.

Incentives for disinformation

At the root of the problem, according to Lavigne, is the design of social media algorithms to optimize for engagement.

“Conspiracy theories tend to provoke some sort of outrage,” said Lavigne. This makes the content more engaging, keeping users eyeballs fixed on social media apps longer, which generates more advertising revenue. 

In 2025, Meta made approximately $196.2 billion from ads. This included $16 billion from ads for scams and banned goods. While these are against its policies, enforcement is often reactive rather than proactive.

In 2025, Canada’s National Observer reported that Meta accepted $300k from The Epoch Times in ads targeting Canadians under a series of false names, despite banning the outlet. Meta also rewarded Mutinni — an account pumping out hundreds of AI-generated conspiracy theory videos to sell T-shirts — with hundreds of thousands of followers. 

But the company was not the worst offender. The Media Ecosystem Observatory report found that Elon Musk’s X was the epicentre of Canadian conspiracy content, accounting for 70 per cent of likes and the majority of posts.

Despite being a hub for deepfake pornographic images and misinformation, the platform remains a primary communication tool for Canadian politicians. And evidence is mounting that its algorithms are shaping people’s beliefs.

A study published last week in Nature found that the X platform’s algorithmic feed shifted users' stated political opinions to the right compared to a chronological feed. 

“Not all engagement-based algorithms are the same,” explained Lavigne. “We are asking for more transparency about the algorithms and the type of content they promote.”

As well as stronger transparency requirements, the report recommended that the harms of algorithmic changes should be assessed before they are made and that users should be able to opt out of being profiled.

Grams agrees that regulation is necessary, but suspects we need a deeper transformation of local politics.

Conspiracy theorists are often motivated, vocal and highly engaged, she explained. “What are the other 80 per cent of us doing?”

“Those of us who are concerned about democracy and those of us who are really concerned about climate have a real duty to be more involved in our local politics,” Grams said.

The conspiracy theorists are already making their voices heard.