According to the newspaper’s editor, Brian Myles, “there is more fear than harm.” A similar observation to The Presswhere the blocking “did not generate any financial consequences”, notably because “85% of the traffic already came from the application and the website”.
It is true that this change has led many Canadians to develop, in recent times, “the reflex of going directly to their application and the Internet to get information.” And we should be happy about that. According to a report published by the Centre for Media Studies last June, online news sites or applications are the main source of news for 30% of Canadians, a peak since this data has been compiled. This observation is unfortunately incomplete.
Mainstream media have the power of impact and organizational structure that give them greater flexibility to adapt to such upheaval. With their large number of employees, they can devote part of their resources to improving and developing new channels to reach their audience without compromising the production of news, which is at the heart of their mission.
The situation is quite different for a host of small independent or specialized media outlets that operate with reduced budgets and small teams in which employees combine journalistic tasks with those of administration, programming, etc.
This is the case for our inclusive news media, Toastsfocused on covering LGBTQ+ news. Launched in September 2023, it was able to offer its content on Facebook and Instagram until last July, when the axe fell: Meta designated us as a media outlet and our publications are now blocked in Canada.
Sword of Damocles
Even though we knew that a sword of Damocles was hanging over our heads, we still had to try to invest in these platforms where our target audience is massively located. The data proves us right: between our first half of the season in the fall and the second in the winter and spring, our average weekly traffic on Instagram increased by 706%. However, for the past month, it has been impossible to reach these thousands of people who have consulted, at one time or another, our news on the platform.
As The Press et The dutywe are adapting. We will publish more videos on YouTube and TikTok. Our newsletter will also be enhanced in anticipation of our second season in the fall. Despite the pitfalls, the mission of our media is more important than ever: LGBTQ+ communities have been the target in the last year of unprecedented attacks on their rights, particularly those of trans and non-binary people.
In an interview on our podcast this year, GRIS-Montréal Executive Director Marie Houzeau reported that in schools, students’ comfort level with issues of gender and sexual diversity was down in 2023 and 2024, a first in 20 years. However, young people are a group that is particularly susceptible to being influenced by fake news. It is imperative to be able to reach them with reliable and verified information in order to counter the polarization of society.
Coincidentally, August also marks the start of Fierté Montréal, a festival that celebrates sexual and gender diversity. But this year, many members of the LGBTQ+ community see a rainbow threatened by dark clouds.
We are working hard and passionately to help dispel the storm on the horizon, but the current media ecosystem does not favor the emergence and sustainability of independent media like ours, on the contrary. To reverse the trend and ensure the survival of these media, additional financial support, particularly from institutional sources, is necessary. This would, among other things, help overcome the socio-economic barriers related to subscription rates. The good adaptability of mainstream media should not obscure this reality.
