Field Guide to Online Political Conversations: How to Spot a Bot

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September 18, 2019

Field Guide to Online Political Conversations

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Field Guide to Online Political Conversations: How to Spot a Bot

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We examine the rising cyber threat to elections, and share how to watch for fake accounts that spread disinformation.

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In 2024, the Samara Centre team published timely analyses on technology's impact on democracy, political engagement, and civic participation in Canada, sharing insights across mainstream, policy, and peer-reviewed outlets.

2024 Publications

In a period of democratic backsliding, the work of the Samara Centre for Democracy is more urgent and relevant than ever before.

2024 Highlights

Humans of the House has received national media coverage and has been the #1 show in the Government category for several weeks on Apple Podcasts where it has also been featured as a New & Noteworthy Special Series.

Humans of the House in the Media

SAMbot has received national media coverage and been presented at meetings across governmental, policy, technology, human rights and academic spaces.

SAMbot In The Media

The Samara Centre for Democracy is frequently asked to provide commentary and analysis on a range of topics related to civic engagement and political participation. We regularly appear in print, broadcast and digital news networks across the country.

Samara Centre in the Media

On Wednesday, December 4th, more than 400 people attended The Walrus Talks at Home: Polarization.

CEO Sabreena Delhon Participates in Walrus Talks Panel on Polarization

Our CEO, Sabreena Delhon, received a King Charles III Coronation Medal, presented at a special ceremony hosted at the Samara Centre’s office on November 1st.

CEO Sabreena Delhon receives King Charles III Coronation Medal

CEO Sabreena Delhon Featured in CPAC Documentary on Online Harms and Cyberbullying

Samara Centre for Democracy CEO, Sabreena Delhon and Connie Walker, this year’s In Defence of Democracy feature speaker appeared on CTV’s The Social on November 12th, 2024 to promote our annual event.

In Defence of Democracy Featured on CTV’s The Social

What is truly threatening Canada’s democracy is the dominant story that we are disengaged and disconnected.

Donate to the Samara Centre this Giving Tuesday

On October 2nd, the Samara Centre hosted Democratic Innovation: What’s Needed, What’s Not Necessary, What’s Next featuring panelists Malorie Flon (Institute du Nouveau Monde), Bianca Wylie (Digital Public) and Sarah Yaffe (MASS LBP).

Montreal Event Explores How to Increase Public Participation in Politics

To mark the 10th anniversary of Tragedy in the Commons our co-founders Alison Loat and Michael MacMillan reunited for a special bonus episode of Humans of the House hosted by Samara Centre CEO Sabreena Delhon.

Bonus Humans of the House Episode Featured in The Hill Times

On October 10th, we hosted an intimate gathering to celebrate the 10th anniversary of Tragedy in the Commons, the bestselling book by Samara Centre co-founders Alison Loat and Michael MacMillan.

Celebrating a Milestone Moment for Tragedy in the Commons

Ten years ago, Alison Loat and Michael MacMillan published Tragedy in the Commons.

Founders of the Samara Centre Reflect on 10 Years of the Bestselling Tragedy in the Commons in New Podcast Episode

In this special bonus episode, we celebrate and reflect upon the tenth anniversary of the bestseller book, Tragedy in the Commons, written by Samara Centre for Democracy co-founders, Alison Loat and Michael MacMillan. Samara Centre CEO Sabreena Delhon hosts this conversation to ask, what has changed? What has stayed the same? Where are the fault lines in Canadian democracy?

Humans of the House BONUS Episode: The "Reluctant" Politician

Sabreena Delhon and Andrea Mariko Grant delve into solutions to tackle the harmful working conditions that local politicians are facing in a new Municipal World Magazine article.

Municipal World article examines solutions to combat abusive working conditions for local politicians

We sat down with the Pulitzer and Peabody-award winning investigative journalist ahead of National Day for Truth and Reconciliation.

A Q&A with this year’s in Defence of Democracy Speaker: Connie Walker

CEO of the Samara Centre for Democracy Sabreena Delhon joined Ontario Today host Amanda Pfeffer on a September 17th call-in show where listeners shared how political polarization is taking a toll on their interpersonal relationships.

How are a handful of users on social media platforms fueling affective polarization?

Sabreena Delhon will be featured in Dave Meslin’s new documentary series, Unrigged premiering Sunday, September 15th on TVO’s broadcast channel.

Samara Centre’s CEO, Sabreena Delhon to appear in Unrigged Documentary on TVO

Lawyers and paralegals in Ontario can now listen to Humans of the House in partial fulfillment of their continuing professional development requirement.

Humans of the House Accredited by the Law Societies of British Columbia and Ontario

Resources for Canadians considering elected office

Are you Candidate Curious?

Bestselling book endures with critical insights about how to build a more resilient Canadian democracy

Celebrating the 10th Anniversary of Tragedy in the Commons

Samara Centre for Democracy Advises on Safer Working Conditions for Elected Officials Before the Standing Committee on Procedures and House Affairs

Samara Centre for Democracy Advises on Safer Working Conditions for Elected Officials

Our CEO Sabreena Delhon was interviewed by The New York Times about foreign interference in Canadian nomination races.

CEO Sabreena Delhon in The New York Times

The Samara Centre for Democracy’s podcast Humans of the House is a national finalist in the best podcast category of the Radio Television Digital News Association (RTDNA) 2024 Awards.

Humans of the House Nominated for RTDNA Award

The Samara Centre for Democracy welcomes three new members to our Board of Directors: The Honourable Elizabeth Dowdeswell, former Lieutenant Governor of Ontario, OC, Professor Kathleen Mahoney, KC, Professor Debra Thompson

The Samara Centre for Democracy Welcomes Three New Board Members

The eventual mayor and a fringe candidate had similar engagement and levels of abuse — but very different experiences online.

Abuse and Online Engagement Unpacked

Chloe Brown and Anthony Furey were among the most successful mayoral candidates, but as political outsiders, they faced barriers breaking into media opportunities.

Who Gets a Platform? Media Exposure and Online Engagement

Mayoral runner-up Ana Bailão proved that offline success didn’t necessarily require high online engagement.

Does Online Engagement Mean Higher Electoral Success?

Xiao Hua Gong spent a lot on advertising, and though those expenses didn’t translate into success at the polls, it showcased how big campaign budgets alone can reach into communities — sometimes in unexpected ways.

Buying Attention, On and Offline

Exploring engagement, toxicity, and civic conversations across online and offline spaces in the Toronto by-election.

Engagement and Abuse on Toronto's Digital Campaign Trail: The 2023 Toronto Mayoral By-election Report

Les Personnages de la Chambre est, depuis plusieurs semaines, l’une des émissions les mieux placées dans la catégorie gouvernementale sur les balados d’Apple Podcasts (Canada).

Les Personnages de la Chambre dans les médias

Born in Happy Hill, Grenada, the Honourable Jean Augustine became the first Black Canadian woman to be elected to the House of Commons.

Featured Voices

The Samara Centre for Democracy and Media Girlfriends team were nominated in the Consumer category.

Humans of the House Podcast Wins Silver at the Canadian Online Publishing Awards

At the Samara Centre for Democracy our purpose is to make it easier for people to talk about and participate in politics. We want to move past simplistic commands like “you should run” or “you should vote” towards more nuanced and personal understandings about what it truly means to be civically engaged.

Samara Centre for Democracy 2023 Highlights

Nous connaissons les politiciens et politiciennes tels qu’ils se présentent à nous dans l’exercice de leurs fonctions. Mais ce n’est que lorsque leur mandat touche à sa fin qu’ils et elles peuvent réellement s’exprimer sur leur expérience. Animé par Chloë Hill, Les Personnages de la Chambre est un nouveau balado qui présente six anciens et anciennes député.e.s de la Chambre des communes du Canada qui décrivent, dans leur propre voix, la réalité de cette profession.

Les Personnages de la Chambre: Bande-annonce

Samara Centre’s Sabreena Delhon and Media Girlfriend's Hannah Sung on why a change in workplace culture on the hill could improve our democracy

Changing the workplace of Parliament Hill would change everything

The Samara Centre for Democracy welcomes two new members to our Board of Directors.

The Samara Centre for Democracy Welcomes Lisa LaFlamme and Jeilah Chan to Their Board of Directors

How are our policies around elections limiting voter engagement - and what do we need from policymakers in order to make things better?

Who Cares About Toronto’s By-Election?

SAMbot tracked toxic tweets in eight municipal elections across Canada by monitoring candidate and political party accounts.

Online Abuse in Local Elections: The SAMbot Municipal Report

SAMbot Vancouver Election

SAMbot Surrey Election

SAMbot Ottawa Election

SAMbot Brampton Election

SAMbot tracked online abuse during Toronto's municipal election. Read our report to learn more about our findings.

SAMbot Toronto Election

SAMbot tracked online abuse during Winnipeg's municipal election. Read our report to learn more about our findings.

SAMbot Winnipeg Election

SAMbot tracked online abuse during Yellowknife's municipal election. Read our report to learn more about our findings.

SAMbot Yellowknife Election

SAMbot tracked online abuse during Charlottetown's municipal election. Read our report to learn more about our findings.

SAMbot Charlottetown Election

Throughout the fall of 2022, the Samara Centre for Democracy deployed SAMbot in eight municipal elections across Canada to measure abusive content received by candidates and political parties on Twitter.

SAMbot Methodology: Municipal Elections

This panel discusses how digital technology is shaping public engagement, journalism and our democracy.

The Promise and Perils of Digital: A Panel Discussion

We’ve come to the final chapter of an MP’s civic journey. What is it like to leave office?

Humans of the House Episode 6: Was It Worth It?

What does it take for MPs to make a difference? We hear from former MPs about the changes they pushed for, and what it cost them.

Humans of the House Episode 5: I'm Going to Say the F Word

Humans of the House Episode 4: Unwritten Rules

What is Parliament Hill like as a workplace?

Humans of the House Episode 3: The Best/Worst Place I Ever Worked

So, you won an election and are officially a Member of Parliament. Now what?

Humans of the House Episode 2: Show Up and Glow Up

Would you ever run for political office? For many of us, “politician” is the last job title we’d ever consider.

Humans of the House Episode 1: You Wanna Run?

In Humans of the House, we are on a journey that explores the human side of politics. Prepare to be surprised, maybe even moved, by the real lives of Members of Parliament.

Humans of the House: Trailer

We explain how ending free Twitter API access is a huge blow to research efforts.

Bring back the Bots: How Twitter’s latest change threatens our democracy

A selection of highlights and publications from the Samara Centre in 2022.

A Look Back on 2022

Our Executive Director, Sabreena Delhon spoke on a panel discussion about race and policy-making in Canada.

Words Left Unsaid: Racial Inequality and Policy-Making in Canada

We provided the Standing Committee on Procedure and House Affairs (PROC) recommendations for virtual hybrid House and committee proceedings.

Samara Centre for Democracy Advises on Hybrid Proceedings Before the Standing Committee on Procedure and House Affairs

SAMbot tracked toxic tweets in the 2022 Federal election by monitoring the Twitter accounts of incumbent candidates and party leaders.

SAMbot 2021 Federal Election Report

Pandemic school closures not only damages achievement and well-being for students; it also compromises civic learning and engagement.

New publication — Policy Options article examines how pandemic school closures have compromised the resilience of our democracy

SAMbot tracked toxic tweets in the 2022 Ontario election by monitoring the public Twitter accounts candidates and official parties.

SAMbot 2022 Ontario Election Report

Learn more about the state of youth civic learning and engagement in the context of the pandemic.

Learning Loss as Civic Loss: Addressing the Generational Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Youth Democratic Engagement

SAMbot Federal Election Day: September 20, 2021

SAMbot Federal Election: September 12-19, 2021

We share findings from the SAMbot project and discuss how online toxicity takes a toll on civic engagement.

New Publication — Policy Options article examines how online toxicity is hindering civic engagement

SAMbot Federal Election: September 5-12, 2021

SAMbot Federal Election: August 29-September 5, 2021

SAMbot Federal Election: August 22-29, 2021

SAMbot Federal Election: August 15–22, 2021

Democracy is needed, now more than ever.

Samara, Canada, and Democracy: A Consequential Moment

Introducing our new Executive Director for the Samara Centre for Democracy

Introducing Our Next Executive Director: Sabreena Delhon

We analyze survey data from municipal leaders across Canada to better understand how local politicians experience public life.

Locally Grown: A Survey of Municipal Politicians in Canada

How did Canadians’ attitudes toward their democracy change with the arrival of the COVID-19 pandemic?

Temperature Check: Canadian Democratic Attitudes in a Pandemic

Disrespect, rudeness, harassment, and abuse online have real costs for our democracy.

Four Ways Online Incivility Harms Canadian Politics

Federal political representatives in Canada share the democratic pressures caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Representation in Isolation: Member of Parliament Survey 2020

With other countries experiencing the negative consequences of digital contact tracing, we find that governance of such apps has been almost totally neglected, and argue this is an area where Canada can lead.

Digital Contact Tracing: A problem for democratic governance

As legislatures across Canada confront the crisis, we review the emergency responses taken in each province and territory (if any), and examine their recent steps to resume some degree of regular operations and parliamentary work.

Closer to the People? Adaptations to COVID-19 by Canada’s provincial and territorial legislatures

With governments struggling to adjust to the realities of physical distancing and restricted travel, we make the case for a hybrid virtual Parliament as the best option to keep our national legislature working throughout the pandemic.

Towards a Virtual Parliament: Design choices and democratic values

As the crisis marches on, we compare how the parliaments of Australia, New Zealand, the UK, and Canada were convened to pass emergency legislation, who got to participate, and what has been put in place to keep tabs on government.

Westminster Parliaments Compared: Four approaches to emergency lawmaking and scrutiny

After Parliament’s initial rounds of emergency lawmaking, we provide an evaluation of what our national legislature and leaders got right and what they got wrong.

Parliament Under Pressure: A Summary

After Parliament’s initial rounds of emergency lawmaking, we provide an evaluation of what our national legislature and leaders got right and what they got wrong.

Parliament Under Pressure: Evaluating Parliament's performance in response to COVID-19

Real House Lives

After the experience of a bruising election campaign, a new Parliament is a chance for a fresh start. For new Members of Parliament (MPs), taking their seat in the House of Commons is powerful, emotional, and memorable.

House Inspection: A retrospective of the 42nd Parliament

“Let’s Talk Digital” is a non-partisan initiative aiming to engage youth (12-25 years old) in a series of workshops and engagement opportunities on digital citizenship.

Let's Talk Digital

We look at why civility matters, and how to debate the issues with mutual respect.

Field Guide to Online Political Conversations: How to Argue with Civility

For many Canadians, social media has become a popular space to talk about politics. By allowing users to freely express their opinions and exchange ideas, social media can be a powerful tool to strengthen our democracy.

Field Guide to Online Political Conversations

This infographic provides advice for political leaders who want to make political discourse more productive and civil, both online and in person.

Field Guide to Online Political Conversations: For Elected Representatives

This infographic looks at why conversations are so different on social media, and how to move from your gut to your brain.

Field Guide to Online Political Conversations: How to Overcome Big Emotions

This infographic provides advice about how to spot and engage with bots and bad actors and online.

Field Guide to Online Political Conversations: How to Spot a Bot

Canada’s Members of Parliament (MPs) are elected to represent their constituents by debating and voting on proposed legislation in the House of Commons.

The Reform Act Revisited

The 2015 federal election saw a stunning surge in youth participation. Turnout increased from the previous election in 2011 by nearly 40% among 18- to 29-year-olds—an unprecedented increase.

You Have Our Attention: Youth Political Engagement in Canada

Pries open the “black box” of nomination contests in Canada to examine how political parties select candidates.

Party Favours: How Federal Election Candidates Are Chosen

This report uses new data to help answer the question: is Canada having a populist moment? And if so, why is that a problem?

Don't Blame "The People": The Rise of Elite-Led Populism in Canada

This is the Samara Centre for Democracy’s third edition of the Democracy 360, a made-in-Canada report card on the state of Canada’s democracy.

2019 Democracy 360

What civic literacy is, why it matters, and how we can foster a more civically literate public.

Investing in Canadians' Civic Literacy

In the spring of 2018, 266 political staff of Members of Parliament, Cabinet Ministers, and Senators took part in an anonymous survey about their perception and experiences of sexual harassment and assault in their workplace.

Elephant on the Hill

Peeking behind the curtain into the hidden world of leader-dominated, hyper-partisan party caucuses.

The Real House Lives: Strengthening the Role of MPs in an Age of Partisanship

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