Consumers need to be more diligent in their news choices instead of relying on social media sources that are designed to enrage us, David Frum told the World Press Freedom Canada luncheon in Ottawa.

Frum is a staff writer at The Atlantic who has championed rule of law and press freedom. The conservative commentator is an outspoken critic of U.S. President Donald Trump and his attacks on press freedom.

Frum delivered the keynote address at the April 29 luncheon, which was attended by more than 300 parliamentarians, diplomats, journalists and business leaders to mark World Press Freedom Day.

The former speechwriter for President George W. Bush took some swipes at Trump, describing his frequent lawsuits or threats of lawsuits against journalists as extortion of their media employers, who often have business interests before his administration.

Frum’s speech focused on the changing media landscape that is increasingly shaped by algorithms and social media.

He said most people around the world are now getting their information from TikTok. As a result, their news consumption unconsciously reflects their personal biases rather than a broadly distributed lineup curated by professional journalists. 

People previously “encountered the news as an active decision of choice. We are now mostly passive news recipients,” Frum said.

“The TikTok you get varies from place to place, but it is a global company with global reach, and you’re often being invited to have emotions about global conflicts,” Frum said.

“One of the things that is really remarkable about the Israel-Palestine conflict is how something that is a real estate dispute in one small corner of the world has become a central badge of identity to people all over the planet who may have never visited this part of the world.

“That didn’t happen spontaneously. That is an artifact of this algorithm,” Frum said.   

Other luncheon speakers challenged his reference to the Middle East war, especially given the violence and censorship directed at Arab journalists attempting to cover the conflict in Gaza, the West Bank and southern Lebanon. 

As of this month, the Committee to Protect Journalists reported that Israel has killed 263 media workers in the conflict since the Hamas terror attack on Oct. 7, 2023. Some 210 of them were working inside Gaza

World Press Freedom award winner and Toronto Star reporter Frédérik Plante and Yara El Murr from The Green Line, which received the local journalism award, both paid tribute in their acceptance speeches to journalists killed by Israeli defence forces. 

Frum acknowledged the dangers journalists face today and spoke of the need for press freedom and a more thoughtful approach by consumers.

Frum urged people to think about how our information environment is changing as algorithms determine our content. He suggested people should contribute to a healthier news ecosystem by uploading their fact-based content to social media. In doing so, “we can be better news producers, better news sharers, and better news users.”