Revontulet Develops Crucial Canadian Election Insights with Digital Public Square
A Canadian flag in front of the Peace Tower/Tour de la Paix on Parliament Hill, Ottawa, Canada - Photo from Unsplash
OSLO, 19 May 2025 – Revontulet’s mission is to build a safer world for all by providing the knowledge and tools you need to protect yourself and your stakeholders from terrorism and violent extremism. Digital Public Square (DPS) seeks to transform community engagement for the digital era. Together, Revontulet and DPS work to halt the spread of dis-, mis-, and malinformation to help people make more informed decisions about the online content they ingest.
This year, Revontulet and DPS teamed up in the months preceding Canada’s elections to monitor online narratives that promoted conspiracy theories and violent extremism, map how the key players of these narratives were interconnected, and identify where these narratives jumped from the online into the offline world.
“Elections frequently become flashpoints, increasing tensions and furthering societal divides. In a world where the online information landscape impacts our offline communities more than ever, understanding the dynamics of online discourse and the power it has to sow discord and harm becomes vital in protecting electoral integrity and the democratic process,” says Bjørn Ihler, CEO and founder of Revontulet.
When parties perform differently in the polls than their constituents anticipated, some groups look for someone to blame. This can lead to the scapegoating of minority groups, both online and offline.
Based on Revontulet’s reporting, DPS developed their “Election Watch” series of insights disseminated through their website and newsletters. To date, the insights include:
By monitoring and analyzing dangerous election conspiracies that have the power to erode a nation’s faith in its democratic process, Revontulet was able to provide DPS with reports that included background information and recommendations for combatting dis-, mis-, and malinformation on the local, provincial, and national levels, both online and on the streets. Revontulet’s reports also identify key extremist groups and actors who could feasibly pose threats to Canadian security.
“We are excited to continue our work with Digital Public Square in the months ahead, to further ensure the peaceful transition to the new Carney government, and to protect information integrity across the Canadian landscape,” shares Ihler. “We also continue our work to monitor threats, hate speech, and hate-based violence to further inform policy and action to ensure the safety of all Canadians.”
Revontulet’s efforts with DPS help combat and correct xenophobic discourse and flag hate speech that results in physical danger outside of online forums. Continuing to monitor online extremist narratives is essential to uphold digital and physical security and maintain social cohesion in a rapidly changing digital environment.