Misinformation targets kids—they need our help

The researcher Timothy Caulfield is Canada’s debunker-in-chief. He’s accused celebrities like Gwyneth Paltrow and Kim Kardashian of promoting false health information (apparently detoxifying isn’t a thing). He called the surge of COVID myths an “infodemic.” And last year, he was appointed a member of the Order of Canada for his efforts to combat misinformation.

Kids and teens are especially susceptible to misinformation campaigns, Caulfield says, and they lack the cognitive skills to wade through the noise. “A 2021 analysis by NewsGuard, an online tool that rates the credibility of news websites, found that kids as young as nine encounter misinformation within minutes of activating a TikTok account,” he writes. In his Big Idea essay for Maclean’s, Caulfield makes a compelling argument for why we need to teach kids how to detect misinformation, starting in kindergarten and continuing through high school and university.

—Emily Landau, executive editor

Sean Fraser is Canada’s new minister of housing, infrastructure and communities. Prior to last week’s surprise cabinet shuffle, Maclean’s editor Katie Underwood sat down with Fraser, then Canada’s immigration minister, to talk big issues like bringing more skilled workers to the country and how to right our housing wrongs.

AI tools are taking and using what isn’t theirs, says Toronto-based crime novelist Linwood Barclay. Most notably, his and thousands of other authors stories. In this Q&A, Barclay talks about why it’s time for AI developers to compensate and get consent from writers. “Everywhere you turn, writers are getting squeezed. Their content is being distributed online, and we live in a world where everybody thinks that because it’s on the internet, it should be free,” says Barclay.

A taste of Italy was brought to Downtown Toronto on July 18 at Malfy Gin’s aperitivo-themed patio party. Co-hosted by FASHION and Toronto Life at the stylish VELA on Portland Street, this breezy night overflowed with delicious Malfy cocktails and decadent bites that transported guests to the Amalfi Coast.

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