Facebook ‘likes’ spark political scandal in Canada

A candidate in Quebec is taking flak for allegedly buying Facebook fans, highlighting how little the politicians in this Canadian province know about social media, according to the author.

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The governing Liberal Party is suggesting that Pauline Marois, the leader of the separatist Parti Quebecois (PQ), paid people to “like” her Facebook page.

According to CBC, “A video being circulated by Liberal party staffers shows a chart on the Parti Québécois leader’s Facebook page that shows the number of ‘likes’ spiking for about a week-and-a-half in June and then returning to normal.”

This incident shows the stupidity and lack of social media sophistication of both the PQ and the Liberals.

If Marois did pay Potemkin fans for “likes,” shame on the PQ for its flawed logic. Does the separatist party think anyone is dumb enough to subscribe to the philosophy that a voter will be swayed by someone’s Facebook fan count?

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