DisinfoWatch is proud to have been named the winner of the 2021 Canadian Ethnic Media Association Award for Community Engagement for its efforts toward addressing the threat of mis and disinformation targeting Canadian democracy, media, and society.
DisinfoWatch was established in 2020 at the Macdonald-Laurier Institute with support from the United States Embassy in Ottawa and Journalists for Human Rights, to monitor, analyze, expose and raise awareness of the threat of disinformation targeting Canada and Canadian interests – including our diverse multicultural communities. During that time, DisinfoWatch has detected, analyzed, and exposed cases of disinformation and has educated Canadian journalists and officials about how to identify and defend against such attacks.
The Canadian Ethnic Media Association (CEMA) was launched in 1978 by Belarusian-Canadian journalist and publisher, Sierhey Khmara Ziniak. CEMA advocates on behalf of Canada’s diverse ethnic media journalists and for the right for all Canadians to express themselves in their first language.
Marcus Kolga, founder and director of DisinfoWatch, said that “Canada’s ethnic media community has set a strong example for other nations to follow about how to promote a high-quality ethnic media environment that promotes key democratic values such as diversity, tolerance, and respect.” He continued, “CEMA has been doing this important work for over 40 years, and it’s a great honour for our contributions to be recognized by this organization.”
“CEMA is deeply concerned about the polarizing effects of false narratives and other forms of disinformation targeting Canada’s ethnic communities and all Canadians,” said CEMA Chair Madeline Ziniak C.M..O.Ont., “education and awareness are critically important to building democratic resilience against these threats, and we’re very happy to recognize the important contribution that DisinfoWatch and Marcus Kolga are making towards this goal.”
The Webcast of the CEMA Awards 2021 is available, in full, on www.canadianethnicmedia.com.
The Television broadcast of the CEMA Awards 2021 presentation on OMNI 2, OMNI BC, OMNI ALBERTA will be broadcast Friday, December 3, 2021 – 17:30-19:00.
The Repeat on OMNI 2, OMNI BC, OMNI ALBERTA is Sunday, December 12, 2021 – 17:30-19:00.
