The CBA Public Sector Lawyers presents:

The Media, Misinformation and the Law

May 09, 2025 | 12:00 PM to 1:00 PM Eastern
Online (Zoom)

Everyday, we are bombarded with messages through advertising, conventional media and social media. How much of that information is true, how much of it is erroneous and how much is deliberately designed to push a specific agenda? With a rise in misinformation and disinformation, the legal community, like all members of the public, are left to grapple with this social phenomenon. This reality impacts the public sphere immensely, and elections and court proceedings specifically. Join us for a topical and multi-disciplinary discussion.

Moderator

Professor Brandon Trask, University of Manitoba Faculty of Law

Speakers

Cecil Rosner, former managing editor of CBC Manitoba

Cecil Rosner is an award-winning investigative journalist, author and educator.  He has been a journalist for more than 40 years and is currently the managing editor of the Investigative Journalism Foundation.  His most recent book, published in 2023, is Manipulating the Message:  How Powerful Forces Shape the News.  He is also an adjunct professor at the University of Winnipeg, and teaches a course on media literacy and investigative journalism at the University of Manitoba.

Brandon Trask is an assistant professor of law at the University of Manitoba, Robson Hall. He founded the Rights Clinic at Robson Hall in 2022, and continues to be a co-supervisor of its work. Professor Trask’s research focuses primarily on the areas of criminal law and evidence, constitutional law (with an emphasis on the Charter), and disability and the law (with a particular focus on mental health and criminal law), as well as areas related to progressive law and economics. He recently contributed two chapters to Justice in the Age of Agnosis: Socio-Legal Explorations of Denial, Deception, and Doubt, including: “Call It Democracy: The slippage amongst rights, laws, and values in Canada during the pandemic era.”