Social Media Threats Against Quebec Politicians Shot Up More Than 5X Since Last Year

If you thought you'd seen more local internet trolls lately, you'd be right. Social media threats are on the rise in Quebec, according to Sûreté du Québec communications director Guy Lapointe.

He tweeted on September 17 that the number of online threats reported to Quebec police has more than doubled in the past year — 713 reports in 2019 versus 1,748 in 2020.

For politicians, it's an even bigger leap: reports have more than quintupled, said Lapointe in a second tweet.

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300% The approximate increase in social media threats against Quebec politicians

He specified that members of the Assemblée nationale du Québec have been "particularly targeted by threatening comments on social networks since the pandemic" — 53 reports in 2019 versus 300 reports in 2020.

News recently broke that the provincial police are investigating threats made over Facebook against Premier François Legault. 

Parti Québécois leader Pascal Bérubé also recently filed a police complaint regarding a Twitter threat.

"Don't get yourself in trouble. Think twice before you write anything," warned Lapointe. 

To report a threat to the Sûreté du Québec, contact them here.