Bogus information online, climate change top Canadian fears in latest Pew survey

 A new survey suggests Canadians see the spread of false information online and climate change as the two most worrisome global threats of the modern age. 

In the poll by the Pew Research Center, 68 per cent of Canadian respondents described bogus online information as a major threat, followed by climate change at 65 per cent. 

Foreign cyberattacks, which registered as the top concern in the United States at 71 per cent, also ranked high with 63 per cent of the 1,324 Canadians surveyed. 

Despite the COVID-19 pandemic and ensuing economic fallout, however, the world economy and the spread of infectious disease were cited by just 58 and 57 per cent of Canadian participants, respectively. 

Climate change emerged as the leading international worry, ranking as a major threat among 75 per cent of respondents in 19 advanced economies across North America, Europe and the Asia-Pacific region. 

The Canadian portion of the survey was conducted by telephone between Feb. 14 and April 24 and carries a margin of error of plus or minus 3.3 percentage points. 

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 31, 2022.