Misinformation, disinformation and malinformation: how to determine what's real

Please review each article prior to use: grade-level applicability and curricular alignment might not be obvious from the headline alone.

Neo-Nazi group members plotted to kill Free Press reporter

5 minute read Preview

Neo-Nazi group members plotted to kill Free Press reporter

5 minute read Wednesday, Aug. 10, 2022

Disturbing details of a plan to kill a Free Press reporter who had infiltrated a white nationalist hate group were revealed for the first time Wednesday.

Read
Wednesday, Aug. 10, 2022

‘Ignominious anniversary’ of Hydro’s stalled broadband deal

Martin Cash 1 minute read Preview

‘Ignominious anniversary’ of Hydro’s stalled broadband deal

Martin Cash 1 minute read Thursday, Aug. 26, 2021

A year after Manitoba Hydro stopped taking on new contracts for broadband network access, and three months after Xplornet won the bid to manage that network, critics are complaining the continuing moratorium has left would-be customers in the lurch.

Adrien Sala, NDP critic for Hydro, is calling on the Progressive Conservative government to end the stop sell order and disclose the revenue losses suffered from the disruption.

“It is taking far longer than anyone expected it to and it is creating further and further delays for a lot of ISPs (Internet service providers), school divisions and regional health authorities that have asked for service upgrades,” Sala said.

A spokesperson for Reg Helwer, minister of central services, confirmed that the Xplornet agreement has yet to be finalized but is expected to be soon.

Read
Thursday, Aug. 26, 2021
No Subscription Required

I meme, you meme: internet language brings us together

Jen Zoratti 4 minute read Preview
No Subscription Required

I meme, you meme: internet language brings us together

Jen Zoratti 4 minute read Wednesday, Aug. 18, 2021

Sometimes, a public health campaign gets it right.

The Baltimore City Health Department has been earning praise for a new initiative that spreads accurate information about COVID-19 and vaccines online by using an internet-native language: memes.

“Ginger ale can’t cure COVID, Derrick!” reads one. “Mimosas with the girls? You’re still not vaxxed, Debra!” reads another. “What the FAQ is Delta? It’s new. It’s scary. But we’re here to break it down.”

Done wrong, a public health department using the language of the internet can smack a bit of, to evoke a popular meme, actor Steve Buscemi dressed up unconvincingly as a teenager and asking, “How do you do, fellow kids?” (To be fair, so does describing memes in print.)

Read
Wednesday, Aug. 18, 2021
No Subscription Required

Prominent fact-checker Snopes apologizes for plagiarism

The Associated Press 4 minute read Preview
No Subscription Required

Prominent fact-checker Snopes apologizes for plagiarism

The Associated Press 4 minute read Thursday, Feb. 19, 2026

A collection of breaking news briefs filed on August 19, 2021

• Trudeau, O’Toole to make campaign stops here Friday

• Twelve arrested, two at large after Norway House woman held against her will and sexually assaulted

• River East Transcona school board mandates masks for K-12 students, staff

• Missing teenage girl found in Portage la Prairie

• LRSD, teachers' association one step closer to implementing staff vaccine mandate

• Winnipeg police investigate 28th homicide of the year

• Twenty-seven new COVID infections, one death reported Thursday

• U of M, U of W, Red River announce vaccine mandates

• Two arrests made following June homicide

Read
Thursday, Feb. 19, 2026
No Subscription Required

Tree-felling display home transport generates online buzz

Gabrielle Piché 3 minute read Preview
No Subscription Required

Tree-felling display home transport generates online buzz

Gabrielle Piché 3 minute read Saturday, Aug. 14, 2021

A Winnipeg display home that recently smashed into trees and street signs as it was transported via truck has now been to British Columbia, the Panama Canal and Oz — via the internet.

An online Manitoba starlet, Photoshopped images of the house in the city and beyond have gone viral.

The home’s transport Saturday led to the destruction of nearly two dozen trees in the Charleswood neighbourhood along Roblin Boulevard, between Scotswood Drive and the Perimeter Highway. The house was too wide to fit on the road. It also hit several street signs.

The Winnipeg Police Service said officers arrested the driver, who’s facing a charge of mischief over $5,000. The incident is now subject to a provincial investigation.

Read
Saturday, Aug. 14, 2021