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# True Stories
- URL: https://www.whiteroseintelligence.com/true-stories/
- Published: 1999-01-03T01:42:00.000Z
- Updated: 2025-04-21T19:25:06.000Z
- Author: Liam Sturgess
- Tags: Profiles, #docs, #event

**True Stories** is an annual Canadian event series organized by the *West End Phoenix*, a community newspaper based in Toronto, Ontario, on the subjects of misinformation, disinformation and fake news. The first event took place in June 2024, and the second in April 2025.

## 2024

The first annual event, titled *True Stories, a live series at WEP Central on disinformation, misinformation and fake news*, took place June 6-8, 2024, at WEP Central, the physical event venue run by the *West End Phoenix*, and virtually.[\[1\]](#fn1)

Event sponsors included Coma Edits, Gladstone House, Psiphon and Wâska Media.[\[1:1\]](#fn1)

### Agenda and participants

Participants are organized below by day and as presented in the event agenda.[\[1:2\]](#fn1)

**Day One**

| Name          | Affiliation                                                                                        | Topic |
| ------------- | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ----- |
| Arif Virani   | [Department of Justice Canada](https://www.whiteroseintelligence.com/Department-of-Justice-Canada) | \-    |
| Olivia Bowden | Writer                                                                                             | \-    |

**Day Two**

| Name           | Affiliation | Topic |
| -------------- | ----------- | ----- |
| Josh Visser    | *VICE News* | \-    |
| Mack Lamoureux | *VICE News* | \-    |

**Day Three**

| Name            | Affiliation                                    | Topic                                                                      |
| --------------- | ---------------------------------------------- | -------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| Gabby Lim       | Citizen Lab                                    | The nature of disinformation from a variety of perspectives and challenges |
| Vass Bednar     | McMaster University Faculty of Social Sciences | The nature of disinformation from a variety of perspectives and challenges |
| Craig Silverman | ProPublica                                     | Navigating the Information Environment and Debunking Disinformation        |
| Chloe Brown     | \-                                             | Navigating the Information Environment and Debunking Disinformation        |

## 2025

The second annual event, titled *TRUE STORIES : News, disinformation + life in an unreal age*, took place April 24-26, 2025, in Toronto, Ontario at the Paradise Theatre.[\[2\]](#fn2)[\[3\]](#fn3)

![](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/596c41f8db29d6afc4becdd8/1af1e872-0ded-418e-858b-66148ab30889/WEP_TRUE_STORIES_Announce_img.png?format=2500w)

Event sponsors included the Metcalf Foundation, Paradise Theatre, *Toronto Star*, and Weber Shandwick.[\[2:1\]](#fn2)

### Agenda and participants

Participants are organized below by day and as presented in the event agenda.[\[2:2\]](#fn2)

**Day One**

| Name            | Affiliation             | Topic                       |
| --------------- | ----------------------- | --------------------------- |
| Bruce Arthur    | *Toronto Star*          | Politics in an unreal time  |
| Alex Boyd       | *Toronto Star*          | Politics in an unreal time  |
| Brian Goldman   | *White Coat, Black Art* | Disinformation and medicine |
| Daysha Loppie   | Writer                  | Disinformation and medicine |
| Niko Stratis    | \-                      | Host                        |
| Paul Vermeersch | \-                      | Poetry                      |
| Lee Rose        | Ace of Wands            | Music                       |
| Jamison Steeve  | Metcalf Foundation      | Opening Address             |

**Day Two**

| Name            | Affiliation                                                                                                    | Topic                               |
| --------------- | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ----------------------------------- |
| Nathan Abraha   | Writer                                                                                                         | Our fractured information ecosystem |
| Supriya Dwivedi | Former senior advisor to Prime Minister [Justin Trudeau](https://www.whiteroseintelligence.com/Justin-Trudeau) | Our fractured information ecosystem |

**Day Three**

| Name         | Affiliation                                                                          | Topic                                   |
| ------------ | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ | --------------------------------------- |
| Gabby Lim    | Citizen Lab                                                                          | New tech and the rise of disinformation |
| Natasha Goel | Policy, Elections, and Representation Lab (PEARL), Media Ecosystem Observatory (MEO) | New tech and the rise of disinformation |

---

1. *True Stories, a live series at WEP Central on disinformation, misinformation and fake news.* (2024). West End Phoenix. <https://web.archive.org/web/20250421184840/https://www.westendphoenix.com/events/2024/true-stories> [↩︎](#fnref1) [↩︎](#fnref1:1) [↩︎](#fnref1:2)
2. *TRUE STORIES : News, disinformation + life in an unreal age.* (2025). West End Phoenix. <https://web.archive.org/web/20250421180946/https://www.westendphoenix.com/events/2025/true-stories> [↩︎](#fnref2) [↩︎](#fnref2:1) [↩︎](#fnref2:2)
3. *West End Phoenix Presents TRUE STORIES : News, disinformation + life in an unreal age.* (2025). Paradise Theatre. <http://archive.vn/2025.04.21-191311/https://paradiseonbloor.com/special%5Fevents/west-end-phoenix-presents-true-stories-news-disinformation-life-in-an-unreal-age/> [↩︎](#fnref3)