OTTAWA—“Who writes your tweets Minister? How do you find someone this incompetent (aka stupid)???”

That’s how businessman and former Dragon’s Den personality W. Brett Wilson began a Twitter broadside on federal Environment Minister Catherine McKenna on Monday.

Wilson has frequently made his displeasure with the current Liberal government known to his 178,000 Twitter followers. But what appears to have set him off this time was McKenna promoting National Beaver Week, and noting the harmful effects of climate change on that noble animal’s existence.

The problem is there is no National Beaver Week, and the Twitter account he was citing is a fake.

Wilson, whose knowledge of Canada’s official animal stems from apparently having “hundreds” of beavers on lands he owns, was engaging with @cathemckenna, a “parody” account, rather than @cathmckenna, the account of the Ottawa Centre MP currently serving as environment minister.

But if Wilson didn’t notice the difference, what about the hundreds of his followers who amplified his message?

“Essentially the larger platform we have, the more people are going to listen to us, the more responsibility we have to verify things before we share them,” said Matthew Johnson, education director at MediaSmarts, a Canadian not-for-profit organization dedicated to media literacy.

“We really do have today an extra burden of skepticism when we’re reading anything online. And I think people who are themselves seen as authorities have an extra burden.”

Wilson’s retweet of a fake highlighted the danger of political communications and advocacy on social media — particularly as Canada lurches towards an election year. But it wasn’t the first time the parody McKenna account surfaced in the Canadian politics online world.

Another tweet from the fake account was apparently “liked” by Alberta United Conservative Party Leader Jason Kenney, according to a screen shot posted by Carleton University professor Jennifer Robson.

In a statement to the Star, a spokesperson for Kenney wrote the account is “clearly” a parody.

“Satire can and has been a valid form of political commentary,” Annie Dormuth wrote. “For example, many have noted the federal environment minister’s jetsetting ways, while simultaneously demanding Canadians reduce their carbon footprint.”

A spokesperson for Wilson said that they didn’t know if he was aware the account was fictitious or not. Wilson’s tweet — along with hundreds of retweets and “likes” — remains posted to his account. The spokesperson said Wilson was busy preparing for a charity event Tuesday and could not comment.

Star columnist Susan Delacourt pointed out recently that another tweet from the same parody account –– suggesting politicians receive taxpayer-funded lunches, and criticizing premier-designate Doug Ford for allegedly changing the practice — appeared in her Facebook news feed unchallenged.

“A totally fictitious post, from a fictitious Twitter account, and the rather brazen tag line: ‘You couldn’t make this stuff up.’ Which the authors did,” Delacourt wrote.

“If this is a portent of the 2019 election … yikes.”

It’s a problem amplified by media organizations and the breakneck speed of the news cycle, according to Carleton University journalism professor Christopher Waddell.

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Politicians and news organizations both have a responsibility to “spend a few minutes and know exactly what it is you’re reading and what you’re rebroadcasting to other people,” Waddell said.

“I don’t think you’ll ever stop the wasteland of garbage that’s out on social media, or necessarily should you stop people being able to do parodies … that’s all free speech and people have a right to do that,” Waddell said in an interview Tuesday.

“But there’s a level of responsibility among politicians and among individuals to think before you automatically press a button, and decide to spread something you’re not sure of the origin of to other people. And as long as you decide you don’t care about that, then you’re contributing to the problem.”

But is retweeting a “parody” of Catherine McKenna really so different than people on the left rebroadcasting comedy outlets like The Onion, which has been ceaseless in its skewering of U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration?

“The first difference is if you’re a public figure you have a level of responsibility to the public and to the community at large that’s a higher responsibility than you might have if you’re just some guy sitting in your basement,” Waddell said.

“And the second (difference) is if people are serious about either elevating the level of political discourse or ensuring the level of political discourse doesn’t descend further than it already has, then it’s a responsibility on all people in public life to ensure all the things they do, and all the things they comment to other people about, are fair and accurate and are within the bounds of what would normally be considered within the realm of political discourse.”

It could also be that “elevated political discourse,” if it exists anywhere, does not exist on social media.

A spokesperson for McKenna said Canadians are looking for “meaningful and honest debate online,” and the minister does not believe the public will stand for “attacks and the propagation of falsehood.”

“It is unacceptable that some people feel compelled to purposefully mislead Canadians and personally attack others online, particularly on social media platforms such as Twitter,” wrote Caroline Thériault in a statement Tuesday.

“That being said, fake accounts remain a problem that social media platforms must tackle.”

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