Field Guide to Online Political Conversations: For Elected Representatives

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September 18, 2019

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Field Guide to Online Political Conversations: For Elected Representatives

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

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

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

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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.

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

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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).

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

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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

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.

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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

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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.

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

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

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

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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.

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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.

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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?

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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.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Democracy is needed, now more than ever.

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Introducing our new Executive Director for the Samara Centre for Democracy

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

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

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

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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

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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.

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“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.

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

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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.

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

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

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That's the gentle, colourless way that Hansard, Parliament's official written record, has often recorded heckling in the House of Commons for the last 150 years. But "Oh, oh" is an understatement.

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Over the last 30 years, Canadians have watched with concern as voting rates among younger people have declined, with the result that in the 2011 federal election, the majority of young people opted not to cast a vote.

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An analysis of national media coverage of grassroots politics versus institutional politics.

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Lessons from former MPs for a healthier political life and better representation.

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Stories of party dominance and micromanagement, which get in the way of effective democratic representation.

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The chaotic, unsupported process of becoming a parliamentarian, and the confusion it creates.

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Former MPs describe their unexpected paths into public life.

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