Justin Ling

One Of The Most Innovative Thinkers Around National And International Security, Emerging Technology And The Misinformation Crisis

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About This Speaker

Justin Ling is a freelance investigative journalist and analyst who focuses on politics, national security and geopolitics. Over the past decade, he has come to be a leading voice on misinformation, extremism, political polarization, the rise of conspiratorial politics — and how technology enables all those trends.

At a time when modern society is increasingly defined by fake news and paranoia, understanding what drives these trends, who’s pushing them, why they succeed, and how to counter them is more important than ever. That’s where Ling comes in.

As a contributor to CBC’s The National, Foreign Policy, The Globe & Mail, WIRED, The Guardian, and a host of other publications — Ling has traced disinformation campaigns from their inception to explosion.

From the streets of Ottawa during the notorious Freedom Convoy to the streets of Kyiv during the war in Ukraine, Ling has set himself apart as uniquely qualified to understand how politics and conflict works in our modern age.

In 2023, Ling published Far and Widening: The Rise of Polarization in Canada with the Public Policy Forum, an in-depth investigation into how politics in Canada has become hyperpartisan and unproductive.

Ling has received numerous recognitions for his work, including gold from the New York Festival Radio Awards; multiple Amnesty International Canada media awards; the Brass Knuckles Award for Best Nonfiction Crime Book; and been selected as a finalist for the National Newspaper Awards award for political writing.

Ling has been cited, disapprovingly, by Tucker Carlson and banned by the Russian government — both things he wears as badges of honor.

His first book, Missing From the Village, tracked the existence of a serial killer in Toronto’s Gay Village, even as police had abandoned their investigation. His second book, on policing and crowd control, is in the works. He has also hosted the CBC podcast The Flamethrowers, a history of how right-wing radio radicalized America. His newsletter, Bug-eyed and Shameless, is a Substack best-seller.

Speaking Topics: Justin Ling

The Crisis of Misinformation

The rise of misinformation and fake news has posed a challenge to businesses, organizations, and associations like never before. Conspiracy theorists have targeted online furniture retailers, environmental NGOs, even local pizza shops. Justin brings years of investigative reporting and rich research to help organizations and audiences understand the misinformation landscape, and provides insights on how to assess and address these threats. From Russian hacker farms to Chinese meddling operations and domestic extremists, there are few people better equipped than Justin to walk you through this unusual threat landscape.

Domestic Politics

In an era where journalism is in decline and politics harder than ever to navigate, Justin has built an extraordinary perch on the federal politics landscape. His reporting has prompted a major ethics investigation into the Prime Minister's Office, exposed major rifts inside the Conservative Party, and has gotten to the heart of dysfunction inside the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, Indigenous Services Canada, and a raft of other departments and agencies. His recent profile of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's government, which included a scathing interview with the prime minister himself, was heralded by former CTV host Don Martin as "a must-read."

Global Affairs

As foreign bureaus become rarer and rarer, and the age of swashbuckling foreign journalism seems finally over, Justin is trying to buck the trend. His recent work has investigated the role of suicide drones in Hamas' attack on Israel, Russian mercenaries' dirty work in the Sahel, and how Ukraine's quest to innovate a technological solution to its war with Moscow has led to some surprising places. With a particular focus on how propaganda and information warfare shapes conflict, Justin's insight into the state of global order — and disorder — is unique, direct, and essential.