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This material is part of the Online Abuse in Local Elections: The SAMbot Municipal Report.
Catherine McKenney was an Ottawa city councillor representing Somerset Ward from 2014 to 2022 and they placed second in the mayoral race. McKenney received the most tweets (85,697) and the second most abusive tweets (17,036) of any candidate.
Mark Sutcliffe was elected mayor of Ottawa in 2022. He received the fourth highest volume of abusive tweets (4,170).
School trustee candidate Nili Kaplan-Myrth received the most abusive tweets (21,460) of any candidate. Kaplan-Myrth is a family physician who was targeted due to her advocacy in support of pandemic safety measures and COVID-19 vaccination. She was elected in 2022.
Candidates are ranked based on the volume of total tweets they received.
Below is a selection of real tweets that were received by Kaplan-Myrth that SAMbot evaluated as threats. They are shared to illuminate the severity of abuse candidates can experience on the digital campaign trail. Only accounts tracked by SAMbot are presented.
The following tweets include language that is graphic, offensive and potentially traumatizing. We are sharing this content in order to responsibly and accurately convey the full working conditions that municipal candidates confront on the digital campaign trail.
All twitter handles aside from the candidates are represented as @USER for anonymity.
Five of the six candidates to receive the highest proportions of abusive tweets were running to be Ottawa Carleton District School Board trustees.
The highest proportions of abusive tweets went to school trustee candidates Shannon Boschy and Chanel Pfahl. Respectively, 33% and 32% of the tweets they received were abusive. Both candidates vocally objected to equity, inclusion and sex education policies. They were outspoken about their opposition to access to gender-affirming care for youth. Neither was elected in 2022.
The following candidates received over 100 tweets and are ranked based on their proportion of abusive content.
SAMbot evaluated a high proportion of the abusive tweets received by Ottawa school trustee candidates Chanel Pfahl and Shannon Boschy as identity attacks. Respectively, 16% (2,559 tweets) and 15% (339 tweets) of all tweets they received were categorized in this way.
SAMbot assesses a tweet as an identity attack whether the attack is directed at the candidate or at another individual or group. In this case, a significant portion of the identity attacks received by these candidates were not targeting their demographic characteristics, but instead, their opposition to teaching gender inclusivity and anti-racism in schools. Tweets that described these candidates as transphobic, racist, or similar terms were evaluated as identity attacks by SAMbot. At the same time, many tweets SAMbot labeled as identity attacks were sent in support of these candidates and their policies. For example, when a candidate was tagged in a tweet containing abusive language towards trans people, SAMbot registered that tweet as an identity attack towards that same candidate.
The category of identity attacks, therefore, is a complex one, and doesn’t necessarily imply that a candidates’ specific identity was attacked. Instead it indicates that conversations about identities - their expression and related policies - are manifesting a significant volume of abuse, which is in turn shaping the substance, tone and experience of political conversations online.
Below is a sample of real tweets that were received by Pfahl and Boschy that SAMbot evaluated as identity attacks. They are shared to illuminate the severity of abuse candidates can experience on the digital campaign trail. Only accounts tracked by SAMbot are presented.
The following tweets include language that is graphic, offensive and potentially traumatizing. We are sharing this content in order to responsibly and accurately convey the full working conditions that municipal candidates confront on the digital campaign trail.
All twitter handles aside from the candidates are represented as @USER for anonymity.
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This material is part of the Online Abuse in Local Elections: The SAMbot Municipal Report.
How to cite: The Samara Centre for Democracy, Online Abuse in Local Elections: The SAMbot Municipal Report, (Toronto: The Samara Centre for Democracy, 2023), http://www.samaracentre.ca/project/online-abuse-in-local-elections-sambot-municipal-report.
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