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A Parliamentary committee heard that up to 40% of Quebec voters sought election information from chatbots during the recent provincial election, but received inaccurate data due to most local news outlets blocking access for these bots. Researchers found that ChatGPT often relied on an error-ridden hobby website for its responses, raising concerns about the reliability of AI in providing correct political information. The committee’s meeting highlighted potential vulnerabilities in democratic processes when false or outdated election advice is disseminated through technology by accident or design.
Written locally by qwen2.5:14b on 2026-10-09,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
Story summary
In a recent Quebec election, 40% of voters turned to AI chatbots for information. However, due to most Quebec news outlets blocking access to their content by these bots, the chatbots often relied on inaccurate sources. For instance, during the last three weeks of the campaign, 39% of voting advice provided by ChatGPT came from an error-ridden hobby website created by AI. This highlights a significant issue with the reliability of election information when sourced through unregulated platforms like chatbots. McGill political scientist Aengus Bridgman and Taylor Owen noted that this situation arose not from malicious intent but rather due to the interplay between blocked content access and flawed data sources used by the bots, potentially misleading voters seeking accurate electoral guidance.
Written for “Quebec Election Chatbot Scandal” on 2026-10-09,
grounded in this article and the 0 other(s) covering the same event.
Why this leaning score
The model judged this article politically coded and scored it +0.35, but 1 quote(s) could not be found in the article and the other 1 are attributed speech rather than the article's own narration, so the score is not published.
Written under an earlier scoring contract, which gave a paragraph
rather than checkable quotes. Re-analysing this article replaces it.
Leaning score withheld for article 67267: no verified evidence · logged 2026-10-09
Canadians turning to chatbots for election information don’t always get accurate responses, a Parliamentary committee heard Thursday.
asserted
committee → turn → responses
An estimated 40 per cent of Quebec voters asked AI chatbots for election information, said Aengus Bridgman, a McGill political scientist who led a study tracking chatbot activity during the recent Quebec election.
asserted
who → ask → election
But because most Quebec news outlets don’t allow chatbots to access their content, he said, those voters couldn’t obtain the most accurate and up-to-date information.
“Almost all Quebec newsrooms have blocked AI chatbots from collecting their content.
asserted
newsrooms → allow → content
Which means that AI chatbots are going elsewhere for information,” he said.
asserted
he → mean → information
Taylor Owen, associate professor in the Max Bell School of Public Policy at McGill, said 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.
asserted
cent → say → AI
“There was nothing nefarious by this person’s actions nor necessarily by the design of the chatbots themselves, nor by the publishers who de-indexed themselves,” he said.
asserted
he → be → themselves
“It was just this confluence of events that led to, likely, a large number of people getting false information about the election.”
asserted
number → lead → election
“That’s actually a little bit terrifying …
asserted
That → ’ → ?
If that can happen by accident, imagine what could happen potentially on purpose,” Conservative MP Blaine Calkins responded.
uncertain
Calkins → happen → purpose
Owen said that’s the question that needs to be asked “quite urgently.”
asserted
that → say → ?
Thursday’s meeting was the first for a new study on AI and Canada’s democratic institutions launched by the House of Commons procedure and House affairs committee.
asserted
meeting → launch → committee
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 8, 2026.
asserted
report → publish → Press
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