{
  "id": 12991698,
  "title": "Many Quebec voters got false election information from chatbot, MPs hear",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/09/many-quebec-voters-got-false-election-information-from-chatbot-mps-12991698",
  "topic": "ai",
  "section": "AI",
  "published": "2026-10-09T00:30:59.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Global News",
    "slug": "global-news-globalnews",
    "url": "https://globalnews.ca/news/12093686/quebec-election-false-information-ai-chatbots/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "During a recent Parliamentary committee hearing, it was revealed that many Quebec voters were receiving inaccurate election information from chatbots, according to a report by The Canadian Press. Aengus Bridgman, a McGill political scientist who led the study, found that approximately 40% of Quebec voters turned to AI chatbots for election information during the recent Quebec election. However, most Quebec news outlets have blocked chatbots from accessing their content, which left these voters without the most accurate and up-to-date information.\n\nTaylor Owen, an associate professor at the Max Bell School of Public Policy at McGill, explained that in the final three weeks of the election campaign, 39% of the voting advice provided by ChatGPT was sourced from an error-filled hobby website built by AI. This error-filled information was the result of a combination of factors, including the de-indexing of these news outlets by publishers. Bridgman emphasized that while there was no malicious intent behind these events, the situation warrants urgent attention.\n\nConservative MP Blaine Calkins echoed Bridgman's concern, stating that the issue is terrifying and that urgent questions need to be asked about potential misuse of AI on purpose. This first meeting of a new study on AI and Canada's democratic institutions by the House of Commons procedure and House affairs committee marks the beginning of addressing these concerns.",
  "summary": "Many Quebec voters sought election information from chatbots during the recent provincial election. According to Aengus Bridgman, a McGill political scientist, an estimated 40 per cent of Quebec voters asked AI chatbots for election information. However, most Quebec news outlets have blocked AI chatbots from collecting their content, limiting the accuracy of the information available to voters.\n\nAs a result, chatbots often relied on alternative sources for information. Researchers found that in the last three weeks of the election campaign, 39 per cent of voting advice provided by ChatGPT came from an error-filled hobby website built by AI, according to Taylor Owen, associate professor in the Max Bell School of Public Policy at McGill. This led to many voters likely receiving false information.\n\nThe issue arose from a combination of factors, including the blocking of AI chatbots by Quebec news outlets and the chatbots' reliance on other sources. Neither the chatbot designers nor the publishers who blocked the chatbots were found to have acted with malicious intent, according to Owen.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 3,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "Winnipeg Free Press",
        "title": "Many Quebec voters got false election information from chatbot, MPs hear",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/08/many-quebec-voters-got-false-election-information-from-chatbot-mps",
        "published": "2026-10-08T18:47:36.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "Global News",
        "title": "Many Quebec voters got false election information from chatbot, MPs hear",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/09/many-quebec-voters-got-false-election-information-from-chatbot-mps",
        "published": "2026-10-09T00:30:59.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}