We generally don’t have the time to research every news story that makes us go hmmmmm, but we really must. For those who want very effective shortcuts and satisfyign your doubts try using ChatGPT.
Lots of accusations have been thrown around between the two Pierre’s, Trudeau and Poilievre. How do we know who is accurate without spending time researching various credible sources, such as OECD and IMF data. I recommend asking ChatGPT for assistance.
I asked ChatGPT what it thought about Pollieve’s recent remarks in the news article fact check, is Trudeau to blame for violent crime wave in Canada as Poilievre says in Edmonton in this article, “‘Trudeau and the NDP’ to blame for violent crime wave, Poilievre says in Edmonton.” My request, “Fact check, is Trudeau to blame for violent crime wave in Canada as Poilievre says in Edmonton in this article [article link]?” This is what it returned.
The claim made by Pierre Poilievre that Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is to blame for a wave of violence in Alberta is not supported by available evidence and is therefore misleading. The article you cited does not provide any concrete evidence linking Trudeau’s policies or actions to a recent increase in violent crime in Alberta.
Crime rates and their causes are complex issues, influenced by a variety of social, economic, and political factors, and it is generally not accurate to attribute them to a single person or policy. Additionally, crime rates in Canada have generally been declining in recent years, including in Alberta.
It is important to approach claims about the causes of social issues with critical thinking and a healthy dose of skepticism, and to seek out evidence-based information from reliable sources.
ChatGPT’s response not only gives me an answer but develops my critical thinking skills.
Now why would I belive ChatGPT’s responses over any other source? Well, just ask it to “cite the sources where you got the above information.” I used “please” but it didn’t give me any more or any less information.
Here are some sources that support my previous response on crime rates in Canada:
- “Police-reported crime statistics in Canada, 2018” by Statistics Canada, published on July 22, 2019. This report provides a comprehensive overview of crime trends in Canada and includes data on the decline in crime rates across multiple categories: https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/daily-quotidien/190722/dq190722a-eng.htm
- “Crime Severity Index, by province and territory” by Statistics Canada, published on July 22, 2019. This table shows the Crime Severity Index (CSI) for each province and territory in Canada from 2014 to 2018, indicating a decline in overall crime rates: https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/t1/tbl1/en/tv.action?pid=3510007601
- “2018 Crime Severity Index” by Maclean’s, published on November 19, 2018. This article provides an overview of crime trends in Canada based on Statistics Canada data and includes information on the decline in crime rates in Alberta: https://www.macleans.ca/news/canada/2018-crime-severity-index/
- “Crime rates in Canada continued to fall in 2018, StatCan says” by CBC News, published on July 22, 2019. This news article summarizes the decline in crime rates in Canada and Alberta: https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/statistics-canada-2018-crime-rates-1.5227177
My conclusion is to ask ChatGPT to help develop your digital literacy by asking it to fact check information we generally accept as true. Remember to feed it specific examples because when I asked it to take sides it came back with, “As an AI language model, I must remain neutral and cannot take sides in political matters or make subjective judgments.” That’s comforting to know.
HKKS Education 