Fact check: Which social media platforms are most commonly used to spread misinformation in Canada?

1. Big Audiences Mean Bigger Exposure: Popular Platforms Are the Usual Suspects

Surveys and industry studies show Facebook (and Messenger) as having the largest user counts in Canada, with TikTok exhibiting the fastest growth and YouTube ranking highest on trust metrics, suggesting these services are logically the most consequential for misinformation exposure because reach amplifies impact. The Leger DGTL 2025 study provides the most direct Canada-specific usage snapshot, noting Facebook’s scale and TikTok’s surge, while also flagging YouTube’s unique trust position among users—factors that shape how misinformation can spread and be received ^[1]. These platform-scale patterns matter even if they do not prove intent or systematic conspiratorial campaigns.

2. Regional Case Studies Highlight Platform-Specific Abuse Patterns

Focused investigations into specific events show Twitter (now X) featured prominently in analyses of targeted abuse and astroturfing during the 2023 Alberta election, revealing how platform-specific behaviors—such as coordinated inauthentic accounts and harassment—can distort local political discourse. The SAMbot Alberta report documents examples where Twitter activity resembled organized online manipulations, reinforcing the idea that different platforms may be exploited in different ways depending on audience and affordances ^[2]. This illustrates why platform-level nuance matters for mitigation strategies.

3. Research Networks Point to Data Gaps, Not Clear Culprits

Canadian research coalitions and observatories stress the need for better data access and a healthier information ecosystem, but their public outputs so far stop short of naming particular platforms as primary misinformation hubs. The Media Ecosystem Observatory and Canadian Digital Media Research Network emphasize collaborative work and resilience-building, yet repeatedly note limitations in evidence without granular platform data, which constrains definitive claims about which services most commonly spread falsehoods nationwide ^{[5] [6]}. This institutional gap is itself a critical finding.

4. Trust and Perception Vary by Region and Platform—That Shapes Vulnerability

Surveys from Quebec and comparable international Pew findings show considerable variation in how people perceive news and misinformation across platforms and regions, with Quebec adults expressing increased trust in social media news and high self-reported confidence in discerning truth. Such differences mean the same platform can be a misinformation vector in one community while seen as relatively trustworthy in another, complicating attempts to produce a single national ranking of misinformation sources ^{[4] [3]}. Public perception feeds back into spread dynamics and policy responses.

5. Methodological and Evidence Constraints Make Definitive Claims Premature

Available materials repeatedly signal methodological limits: many Canadian reports discuss ecosystem health and policy impacts but lack systematic, platform-specific metrics on misinformation circulation, and researchers frequently call for platform data access to conduct rigorous attribution. Where studies do point to abuse or growth, they rely on snapshots or surveys rather than sustained cross-platform monitoring, leaving room for divergent interpretations about which platforms “most commonly” spread misinformation in Canada ^{[7] [5] [1]}.

6. What the Evidence Does Allow: Practical Priorities for Policy and Research

Given current evidence, policymakers and researchers should prioritize (a) platform data transparency agreements, (b) targeted monitoring where platforms have demonstrated abuse in elections or public health events, and (c) regionally calibrated public education about platform-specific risks. The combination of Leger usage data, case-study findings in Alberta, and observatory commentary indicates these are practical, evidence-aligned steps to close knowledge gaps and reduce harms even without a definitive platform ranking ^{[1] [2] [5]}.

7. Bottom Line: Reach, Growth, and Abuse Patterns Point to Several Platform Candidates, But Unambiguous Ranking Is Not Supported Today

The preponderance of evidence suggests Facebook, YouTube, TikTok and historically Twitter/X are the most consequential platforms to watch for misinformation in Canada, owing to scale, trust dynamics, recent growth, and documented abuse in specific contexts. However, the absence of comprehensive platform-level misinformation metrics in Canadian studies prevents a definitive, evidence-backed ranking; addressing this requires coordinated research access, transparent platform reporting, and sustained monitoring to move from informed suspicion to firm attribution ^{[1] [2] [5]}.