Information & Ethics Committee on Oct. 24th, 2024

[Michael Cooper, Conservative, St. Albert—Edmonton, AB]

On a different note, but to Meta, it was revealed at the public inquiry that during the 2019 election, the Prime Minister's department, the PCO, asked Facebook to remove a Buffalo Chronicle article on Justin Trudeau on the basis that it contained disinformation and that it risked threatening the integrity of the election. In response, Facebook removed the post.

Was Facebook contacted by the Prime Minister's department in the 2021 election with any request to take down Beijing-directed disinformation targeting now former Conservative member of Parliament Kenny Chiu?

[Dr. Lindsay Hundley]

I am not aware of any of those requests, but this is something that we can check with our internal teams and can get back to you on.

[Michael Cooper, Conservative, St. Albert—Edmonton, AB]

It's now been established that during the 2021 election, the Beijing regime launched a sophisticated disinformation campaign using various social media platforms with the goal of defeating certain Conservative candidates and re-electing Justin Trudeau.

Was Facebook contacted by the Prime Minister's department to take down disinformation about then Conservative leader Erin O'Toole?

[Rachel Curran]

I can chime in here, Dr. Hundley, and you should comment as well.

To my knowledge, we were not contacted by anyone in the Privy Council Office or at Global Affairs.

[Michael Cooper, Conservative, St. Albert—Edmonton, AB]

That related as well more broadly to the disinformation campaign directed by Beijing that was targeting Conservatives.

[The Chair, Conservative, John Brassard]

Provide a quick response, please.

[Rachel Curran]

Yes, that's correct.

[The Chair, Conservative, John Brassard]

Thank you, Mr. Cooper.

Just for the sake of the witnesses as well, we're limited on time for questions and answers, so don't take any offence if any of the members reclaim their time from you in the middle of a response. I just want to make that clear.

Ms. Khalid, you have six minutes. Go ahead.

[Iqra Khalid, Liberal, Mississauga—Erin Mills, ON]

Thank you very much, Chair.

My questions are directed to Mr. Fernández, who is representing X today.

I appreciate your providing statistics in your opening remarks today. Here is another one. A 2021 study found that in five G7 countries, Twitter had a “statistically significant difference favoring the political right wing.” The study found that Canada had the largest discrepancy between the right and left, with Liberals having an amplification of 43% compared to 167% for Conservatives.

Why does X favour right-wing politicians?

[Wifredo Fernández]

Our mission, our operations and our ethos are politically agnostic. Our algorithms actually don't factor in political sentiment in how they recommend content.

[Iqra Khalid, Liberal, Mississauga—Erin Mills, ON]

I will ask you this: Does X provide financial support to any Conservative or right-wing politician in Canada?

[Wifredo Fernández]

X does not engage in any political giving anywhere in the world.

[Iqra Khalid, Liberal, Mississauga—Erin Mills, ON]

In May of this year, X announced that it would be funding Pierre Poilievre's Conservative candidate Matt Strauss in his lawsuit with a Canadian university over vaccine misinformation.

Matt Strauss has been active on X, promoting anti-establishment conspiracy theories and claiming that the World Economic Forum, the WEF, is directing government policy, and he is spreading vaccine misinformation on Russian propaganda channel RT.

How much financial support has been received to date by this Pierre Poilievre Conservative candidate from X?

[Wifredo Fernández]

Again, X does not engage in any political giving.

[Iqra Khalid, Liberal, Mississauga—Erin Mills, ON]

I am not sure why you are saying that, because X has gone on the record to say that it is footing the legal bills for this person.

I would ask you then, again, are there any other politicians in Canada, whether at the federal, provincial or municipal levels, whom X has supported financially?

[Wifredo Fernández]

No.

[Iqra Khalid, Liberal, Mississauga—Erin Mills, ON]

How much financial support has been provided to Canadian politicians, in general, by X here in Canada?

[Wifredo Fernández]

Again, X does not engage in political giving.

[Iqra Khalid, Liberal, Mississauga—Erin Mills, ON]

Does X have mechanisms in place to ensure that any money that has been provided, whether it's to your knowledge or not—and I am hoping that you will come back with that information—is being used for the intended purposes?

As I said, Mr. Fernández, it is on the record that X has agreed that it is footing the bill for this Conservative candidate for the legal fees. I would like to know more information about X's involvement with our Canadian democratic process.

[Wifredo Fernández]

I'm happy to follow up with more information on our efforts around the world to support folks who are dealing with issues of freedom of speech, but we do not engage in political giving or in political campaign giving.

[Iqra Khalid, Liberal, Mississauga—Erin Mills, ON]

Chair, there is a discrepancy between the information that is publicly available and has been published by X—since it has claimed and confirmed it is footing the bill for a right-wing candidate of the Pierre Poilievre Conservative Party—and what Mr. Fernández has said today.

Given that there is a clear contradiction in what he's saying, I would like, hopefully with the consent of all of our committee, for documents with the following information to be produced: the names of all Canadian politicians who have received financial support from X; how much financial support has been received to date by each of those candidates or elected officials; how much financial support each is entitled to receive; the mechanisms in place to ensure that all money is going to the intended purposes for which there have been commitments made by X to these candidates; proof that all money to date has gone to these intended purposes and that checks and balances are functioning; and, lastly, the status of all legal proceedings for all of the above that I've referred to.

[The Chair, Conservative, John Brassard]

You seem to be privy to information that neither I nor any of the other members have, so I don't see any problem with that type of information being requested.

[Michael Barrett, Conservative, Leeds—Grenville—Thousand Islands and Rideau Lakes, ON]

I have a question.

[The Chair, Conservative, John Brassard]

Okay.

I'm going to stop the clock for Ms. Khalid here.

What's your question, Mr. Barrett?

[Michael Barrett, Conservative, Leeds—Grenville—Thousand Islands and Rideau Lakes, ON]

We would have to know that those documents exist for the committee to be able to request them. The committee does not have the power to request documents that don't exist or to request the creation of documents.

If this is a motion that Ms. Khalid is putting forward—