June 2024: State of Engagement with News Outlets

Executive Summary

This is the second edition of the Canadian Information Ecosystem Situation Report, a monthly briefing on the state of the information ecosystem as it relates to politics, media, and the broader health of democracy. It combines digital trace data from politically influential Canadian accounts across TikTok, Twitter/X, Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, and Telegram, monthly opinion tracking, and media monitoring.

Concern over foreign influence mounted in June, driven by the release of the NSICOP report and the passage of Bill C-70. Canadians grew more worried about foreign interference, misinformation, and generative AI, and increasingly believed that China (67%), Russia (56%), and India (35%) are using covert means to influence Canadian politics. As spring turned to summer, appetite for news and politics fell: self-reported social media consumption dropped most sharply (-5.4%), alongside a pronounced -11% decline in overall social media engagement, concentrated among politicians (-12%) and media organizations (-16%).

Top Canadian news outlets proved moderate with broad appeal — CBC, CTV, and Global News each reach large audiences, rank among the highest social-media engagement earners, and draw ideologically moderate readers. By contrast, small right-wing outlets punched above their weight: True North, The Post Millennial, and Rebel News are each read weekly by only 5-7% of Canadians, yet all rank in the top ten for engagement, drawing the bulk of it from Twitter and YouTube with some from Instagram.