Québec solidaire candidates report surge in online hate ahead of provincial election

Questions about this coverage

How did the left and right cover Québec solidaire candidates report surge in online hate ahead of…?

Of the 31 outlets on this story carrying a published leaning rating, 71% are rated left, 29% are rated centre, 0% are rated right. Those percentages are shares of the rated outlets, not of every outlet that ran it, which was 32. The sections above set out what each side emphasised, in its own terms.

Is Québec solidaire candidates report surge in online hate ahead of… left or right?

The story itself is neither. What can be counted is who has covered it, and 71% of the 31 rated outlets on it are rated left — so far this is a story carried mostly by the left. Coverage of this one has settled, so that is unlikely to move much now.

Is the coverage of Québec solidaire candidates report surge in online hate ahead of… biased?

Québec solidaire candidates report surge in online hate ahead of provincial election is one event reported by 32 outlets, and this page does not rate the story as biased or unbiased. What it publishes is the spread: which outlets ran it, where named rating organisations place each of them on the spectrum, and what each side chose to lead with. A leaning rating describes an outlet's record over time, not this article, and the two should not be run together.

Which side is not reporting Québec solidaire candidates report surge in online hate ahead of…?

When we first saw this story, outlets rated right had barely covered it. Coverage accretes for hours after an event, so that is where to look rather than a verdict — the split above is the current count, and it is the one to read.

Which outlets covered Québec solidaire candidates report surge in online hate ahead of…?

32 that we know of, every one of them listed further up this page with a link to its own report and to what we hold on the publisher. Nothing here is a summary of somebody else's summary: the outlets are named so the original reporting can be read.

Which parties reported the surge in online hate?

Québec solidaire and Parti Québécois candidates reported the surge. Québec solidaire described the volume as “exceptional” and “alarming”, while Parti Québécois candidate Philippe Schnobb said he regularly receives homophobic threats, including one referencing a “2×4”. The Liberal Party and Coalition Avenir Québec also acknowledged the problem.

Did any right-rated outlet cover the story?

No. None of the right-rated outlets in the sample carried the story. The reports were published by left and centre-rated outlets, including Medicine Hat News, La Presse, and five digests from local left-rated publications.

What actions have parties taken in response to the online hate?

Québec solidaire has set up support groups and remote assistance for affected candidates. The Liberal Party offers training sessions to help candidates handle violent situations. Coalition Avenir Québec says it monitors candidates’ social media accounts and deplores such attacks.