ACTRA Performers know a good story when they hear one. It’s our bread and butter after all. But what happens when storytelling is weaponized to distort reality?

This is not hypothetical; it’s happening every day. Disingenuous, or outright malicious, manipulation of facts pollutes social media, news outlets, and public discourse, eroding trust in institutions that rely on truth – including unions.

Misinformation (falsehoods spread unintentionally) and disinformation (deliberate lies designed to mislead) are injected into the media ecosystem, often by those chasing political or financial gain. These narratives are engineered to provoke, manipulate, and go viral.

“… this is a direct and urgent threat.”

This manufactured chaos is moving beyond just politics and is aiming for organized labour and human rights institutions. When truth loses footing, the foundations of collective bargaining, artistic freedoms, and civil discourse start falling, threatening our industry… and society. For unions like ours – this is a direct and urgent threat.

Disinformation has already delegitimized political and social norms, and labour is in its crosshairs. Eroding public trust paves the way for anti-union forces to spread lies about collective agreements, workers’ rights, and the right to labour action. ACTRA performers have experienced firsthand how corporate interests benefit by disrupting union protections.

Make no mistake, big business wants an end to the labour movement. Unions fight for workers which gets in the way of corporations who care more about the bottom line than the well-being of the working class. Anti-union training and union-busting is a multi-million-dollar industry in North America; with firms dedicated to initiatives that destroy organized labour. For them, harnessing disinformation in the workplace and online is a critical tool in their kit. And it’s working. Look no further than the many netizens online who parrot narratives such as “union workers are lazy, and unions are corrupt and take money from your paycheque.” These are words crafted by social media provocateurs aiming to diminish labour rights, and then sadly repeated by those who buy into their lies.

Disinformation does not need a big budget to succeed. Once planted – especially during times of hardship – a misled public quickly becomes the viral messengers.

But what happens when words are not enough to spread falsehoods? Enter misinformation’s viciously nefarious weapon – deepfakes; a nasty tool used especially against performers due to the nature of our work.

If disinformation is the script, deepfakes are the special effects. Artificial Intelligence can now fabricate media so convincingly that anyone can appear on video “saying” or “doing” things they never contemplated. Imagine a clip of an ACTRA union leader “endorsing” anti-labour legislation. Entirely fake, yet believable enough to go viral in seconds, with long-term damaging effects.

“… it will become increasingly challenging to distinguish fact from fiction.”

Often dismissed as “harmless” humour, deepfakes are designed to soften public resistance to media manipulation. As these tools evolve, it will become increasingly challenging to distinguish fact from fiction.

Targeting organized labour and abusing our likeness is bad enough, but what about the effect on our daily lives? If you spend any time on social media, you have no doubt seen – and felt – a big shift in discourse, and deepened divisions sown online.

This change didn’t happen overnight. Years of widening income gaps, entrenched class systems and labour injustice, created fertile ground to exploit financial and political desperation. Social media is the fuel to its fire. Most of us carry a world of media in our pockets. Our ever-present smartphones alert us to “breaking news” at astonishing speeds. But whose truths are we reading? The lens of news is often focused by whomever owns the source. And it’s moving at lightning pace.

Our industry grapples with AI threats – from digital likeness rights to synthetic performances and deepfake-driven falsehoods threatening job security and creative integrity. If left unchecked, this technology and those behind it will undermine art, democracy, and truth itself.

This is why ACTRA is investing in advocacy, lobbying the Canadian government, and partnering with industry allies worldwide, to push for strong AI legislation. We are committed to protecting performers’ rights, defending our profession, and countering disinformation at every turn.

ACTRA members have a role to play too. Only individuals, committees or groups that are sanctioned by ACTRA are permitted to speak on behalf of ACTRA. As a member-led organization, ACTRA leaders are made up of elected working ACTRA members who bring experience to the table to make sure the union is operating well for all members, ensuring trusted communication – based on facts – reaches membership first.

Therefore:

Disinformation is a production, but the plot is very real. It thrives on confusion, mistrust, and disengagement. But truth and facts, like any powerful story, have staying power. It endures.

As ACTRA members, we understand the power of storytelling. Let’s use that skill not just to entertain, but to defend the values that make our art, and our democracy, possible.

Eleanor Noble is the National President of ACTRA – the Alliance of Canadian Cinema, Television and Radio Artists. ACTRA’s 30,000 members who work in Canada’s screen industry are leading the charge for government policies and collective agreements that demand fairness, safety and respect for performers across the country.