Congratulations to alum Haley Magrill for receiving a CANConnect Micro-grant from the Glocal Foundation of Canada for her project, “Politics, Law, and the Challenge of Social Media Misinformation“!
Alum Haley Magrill
The CANConnect Micro-grants Diversity Program aims to distribute 100 microgrants to 100 Canadian youth applicants from across Canada as a means to empower youth and enable them to actively engage in civic activities that positively contribute to their communities.
One key aspect of the program is encouraging participants to provide accurate information about Canadian democratic institutions, help navigate the political system, and promote understanding of current and historical events in Canadian politics.
Magrill holds both an MA and a BA in Political Science from UBC. Her research at UBC focused primarily on misinformation and political behaviour, and the regulation of misinformation on social media.
The project aims to impart a greater understanding of the danger and consequences of social media misinformation, the psychology of misbelief, and the politics behind the spread of misinformation. Magrill also plans to investigate the legal constraints to misinformation legislation and advance a potential Canadian response to the problem of social media misinformation.
Magrill will use the $5000 grant to support the creation of a website and different open educational resources, such as video resources. Her goal is to make research on social media misinformation and the potential policy responses more interactive and accessible to a broader Canadian audience.
