Elections NB launches ad campaign warning voters of fake election news

Elections New Brunswick haslaunched a new ad campaign warningvoters of false information that can be spread onsocial media sites.

The agency has launched the ads on television andsocial media platforms before September's provincial election, hopingto ensure voters get the right information about when, where and how to vote.

• Vote Compass: A political guide to the 2018 provincial election

Kimberly Poffenroth,chief electoral officer with Elections New Brunswick, said social media playsa large roleinpeople's lives and can often be used as a battleground to influence elections.

"Take some time to critically think about what they [voters] are seeing on social media before they share it further," she said.

There are eightads, fourin French and fourin English,all of which are 16 seconds long.

Voters should be skeptical

One ad startswith Bigfoot being spotted in Saint John, another with a mermaid showing up in Caraquet, and a third about a UFO sighting in Moncton.

Poffenrothsaid there have been no specific incidents in the province thatsuggest voters have received false information about the voting process, but she wants people to be skeptical.

She encourages voters to askquestions toElections New Brunswick if they aren't sure.

Paul Harpelle, a spokesperson from Elections New Brunswick, said the campaign hasa budget of$150,000butElections NB hasn'treceived all the invoices yet.

Television ads for the campaign rolled out onFriday andads can also be found on websiteslike Kijiji.

A step in the right direction

David Shipley, a cybersecurityexpert in Fredericton and CEO of Beauceron Security Inc.,praised Elections New Brunswick for preventing widespreadinformation that might mislead voters.

"The same tools and techniques that have been used toinfluence the U.S. election are rather trivial to do, and people who just want to mess with our democracy can easily do so."

Shipley agreed withPoffenroththatsocial media has been used as a battlefield for influencing elections.

"When you share an item, it's not just that you are helping disseminate that information, you are putting your personal stamp on it," he said.

"That adds credibility and it taps into people's inherent trust of others and that's whyfake news on social media can be so dangerous."

Shipley said this campaign reminded him of the 1999 house hippo commercial, about a miniature hippo that lives in housesacross North America. The advertisementwas aimed atchildren to help them think critically aboutinformation they saw on television.

"It's the exact same philosophy," said Shipley.