Did social media contribute to a toxic election season in Yellowknife?

Steve Payne is about to serve his fourth term on city council. He says this election was different. This seems like a different election than the last time. Social media has been a big deal on this one. It's been anonymous posts and people posting with nicknames and, you know, it hasn't all been positive. Yeah, for sure it's toxic. It's just, I guess it's the time we're in. Payne calls the anonymous posting cowardly and he isn't alone in his concerns. A former Yellowknife mayor described social media as a scourge on society and democracy. But it seemed as though this election, more than I can remember from any previous one, just the amount of anonymous trolling and people putting messages out there on Facebook without the courage to actually use their real names, I think that was disappointing. Anonymous posting ended up breaking news for this election that CBC independently verified. An account on Facebook took issues with Garrett Cochran's candidate biography and how he portrayed some of his credentials. He was running for mayor. But Cochran says it went further than that. He told CBC News it started almost like a systemic campaign, going so far as to attack his mom, he says. I think we're at a larger issue than just whether or not we're getting to the specificity. We're getting into the toxicity of social media. The city has faced negative comments on social media too in the past. Earlier this year, City Council voted to close comments on its social media accounts, and City Administration is still reviewing whether that was a good move. It will report back by the end of the year. Devin Trudynek, CBC News, Yellowknife.