We Fight Disinformation Every Day. You Can Help

Keep it real by fighting disinformation every day.

That is The Tyee’s mission statement for 2026. It comes with a new initiative we’re eager to tell you about. We call it The Tyee’s Reality Check Project.

But first, let’s agree. You want to live in a rational, fact-based world and so do we.

There was a time when our shared reality was a given. Now powerful forces laugh as they saw away pillars of trustworthy information.

Instead, digital tycoons and demagogues “flood the zone” with BS for a reason.

They want us confused and cowed.

They want us slipped up on slop.

As they pollute the media-sphere with trickery and falsehoods, they wield ever more powerful tools.

They have at their disposal artificial intelligence. Torqued algorithms. And media moguls quick to forfeit independence.

They assume they can get away with it, as newsrooms shrink in an industry clinging to dying ad revenues.

If you care about making good, informed choices as a citizen, it’s hard not to be alarmed. Especially if you believe that democracy can’t survive without real journalism.

So yes, they’re flooding the zone with crap. And because we exist to reverse the tide, it’s all hands on deck. That’s how we feel here at The Tyee.

We know you get it, too. You show it when you read The Tyee or, even better, support us financially to guarantee our independence. Thank you, member allies whom we call Builders.

Today, we’re launching our year-end drive to sign up more supporters to fund our next year of journalism. Our ambitious goal is to sign up 750 new recurring (that’s monthly or annual) supporters by Dec. 31. Will you join us?

Contributions from Tyee Builders are the largest part of our budget and have enabled us to grow our non-profit newsroom and ensure our independence to report hard facts while others shrink or shut down entirely.

This year, for the first time, we’re able to offer tax receipts for contributions to The Tyee, as we are now a registered journalism organization, which makes it all the more easy to consider supporting our work.

So what will The Tyee do in the coming year to ramp up our efforts?

We are writing to you today because we’re not just proud to pledge that we will fight disinformation every day.

We want to explain what we mean by keeping it real.

And, further down, we want to share with you the outline for a new Tyee Reality Check Project we are spearheading in collaboration with other important disinformation fighters in Canada.

So, to break it down.

When we say we will fight disinformation every day on The Tyee, we mean we guarantee that you will always find on our site stories that do at least one of these things:

• Debunk lies
• Expose and name spreaders of misinformation
• Use freedom of information laws to expose secrets
• Cut through confusion with reliably researched, clearly sourced explainers
• Provide tools and methods you can use to protect yourself from manipulative bad actors
• Trace networks of money and power promoting agendas that harm
• Investigate who gains and who loses as governments set and sell policies
• Shine light on the dark back channels of the internet
• Profile heroes who defy cynicism by showing the positive impact of creative, collective action

We aim to publish well over 1,000 original pieces in 2026, peppered with links to sources so you can check our work. They will adhere to the new, transparent artificial intelligence policy we’ve crafted.

If that seems like a lot to promise, our journalists are fully committed to this mission. Journalists like:

Jen St. Denis, who tracked extremist views leading up to and during recent provincial and federal elections — and keeps at it.

Andrew Nikiforuk, who has relentlessly exposed the Alberta government’s secretive sellout to foreign coal mining interests.

Amanda Follett Hosgood, who spent weeks covering a northern BC Human Rights Tribunal case because it exposed RCMP failures on behalf of Indigenous victims.

Michael Harris, whose coverage of Pierre Poilievre, Mark Carney and the federal scene is informed by his decades of reporting, sparking four commissions of inquiry.

Harrison Mooney, whose interviews with “enshittification” expert Cory Doctorow and others are indispensable guides to tactics of the digital elite.

Ben Parfitt and Zoë Yunker, whose laser focus on forestry, fracking and greenhouse gas emissions holds leaders accountable.

Michelle Gamage, who spent months investigating the dubious medical credentials claimed by a B.C. Conservative MLA.

Katie Hyslop, who has shown how online misogyny harms kids and opened policing in schools to transparency.

Isaac Phan Nay, whose labour coverage includes a close eye on how AI threatens honest human work.

... and many more Tyee journalists dedicated to the fundamental premise that truths uncovered and falsehoods debunked are vital to the public interest.

In that spirit, we ask you to contribute to The Tyee financially at whatever level you find comfortable. Please consider becoming a Tyee Builder, or if you already are one, please consider increasing the amount you contribute.

Are you with us? Click here to sign up now.

About The Tyee’s Reality Check Project. And growing its impact

Among other things, your contributions this year will help fund The Tyee’s Reality Check Project. It’s one very specific way we decided to double down on our pledge to fight disinformation every day and keep it real.

Led by award-winning investigative reporter and editor Jen St. Denis, The Tyee Reality Check team starts with our own journalists — while also showcasing expert partners in detoxifying the internet and our political discourse.

We believe there is power in collaboration.

And so, while the Reality Check Project is in its early stages, we’ve already forged ties with impressive partners. Perhaps you’ve seen in our pages work by:

The Media Ecosystem Observatory: Canadian scholars collaborating to “analyze the complex web of online harms and digital threats to democracy, while actively working to safeguard against them.”

James Hoggan: B.C.-based author of Climate Cover-Up: The Crusade to Deny Global Warming and, forthcoming, Silencing Science.

Rachel Gilmore: A fearless reality checker of right-wing extremist claims with a large following on social media.

DeSmog: The long-established, global research organization keeping close tabs on fossil fuel industry claims, campaigns and machinations.

Help us add to this list. The Tyee’s Reality Check Project is a work in progress with, we believe, incredible potential as we share reporting and audiences to create the largest impact possible in our daily fight against disinformation.

Support The Tyee, get limited edition swag

To make supporting The Tyee even more joyous, we’re rolling out a new perk — a free, limited edition Tyee baseball cap to every new Builder who signs up between now and Dec. 31 for a recurring monthly contribution of at least $15 or a recurring annual contribution of at least $180.

We worked with local designer Makayla Crenshaw on this fetching new piece of headwear that lets people know you’re part of the team.

Want to contribute to The Tyee but don’t want the swag? Don’t worry, we realize not everyone wants more stuff! That’s why we don’t automatically mail you things without asking first. You can always opt out of receiving goods when you complete your payment online.

Help The Tyee keep going strong in 2026. Help us flood the zone with fact-based, honest journalism expertly reported by a talented team of public-minded individuals.

Join us now and help us hit our goal of 750 new supporters by midnight on Dec. 31.