A fake Toronto Sun site falsely claimed President Zelenskyy bought a $42M Nova Scotia bunker. We tracked 2,259 related X posts and 7.76M recorded views. The hoax echoes Russian tactics, but its operators remain unknown. disinfowatch.org/fake-toronto...

Fake Toronto Sun story spreads Zelenskyy bunker hoax to millions on X - DisinfoWatch

A website posing as the Toronto Sun falsely claimed that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy had bought a $42-million nuclear bunker in Nova Scotia as a personal escape plan (among other...

disinfowatch.org

The U.S. Embassy in Ottawa portrays Canadian trade advocacy as election interference. Its “fact sheet” conflates trade advoacy with interference, without offering evidence of a coordinated Canadian operation.

US Embassy frames Canadian trade advocacy as election interference - DisinfoWatch

A US Embassy fact sheet published on October 21 presents Canadian trade advocacy, meetings with Democratic officials, alleged personal campaign activity and individual voting offences as grounds for c...

disinfowatch.org

Ukraine has NOT surrendered. Russia has NOT won. Kremlin-aligned accounts manipulated Zelenskyy's Fox News interview to falsely portray his remarks as an admission of defeat. Misleading posts attracted nearly 18 million views, amplifying a false Putin victory narrative that remains active today.

Ukraine Has Not Lost - Russia Has Not Won: How Zelenskyy’s Fox interview was distorted - DisinfoWatch

Within hours of a Fox News interview with Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy on October 21, prominent X accounts were manipulated the interview to falsely claim, to millions of viewers, that...

disinfowatch.org

After the deadly CFB Wainwright fire, unverified claims of explosions, mass casualties and a cover-up spread online. DisinfoWatch analyzed 2,917 X posts (32.2M views). RT amplified early rumours. w/ Global Centre for Democratic Resilience and Cipher AI.

Wainwright Fire Sparks Online Conspiracies & Cover-Up Allegations - DisinfoWatch

DisinfoWatch reviewed 2,917 X posts, which recorded about 32.2 million views. Unverified reports spread quickly during the first hours. Claims of explosions and higher casualty figures reached large a...

disinfowatch.org

Influencers are falsely claiming that Ukrainian drones were permitted to transit NATO airspace, suggesting that NATO and the Baltic states have entered the war against Russia. These allegations contradict repeated government denials and are unsupported by credible evidence.

Norwegian Inlfuencer Falsely Implies NATO and Baltic States Are at War With Russia - DisinfoWatch

Assessment: Misleading / Unsubstantiated Overall Amplification Risk: HIGH Observed Breakout Scale: Category 3 — Cross-platform breakout (Moderate confidence) Trajectory: EXPANDING Summary Norwegian po...

disinfowatch.org

Beware of US MAGA aligned influencers pushing Alberta separatist and 51st state aligned narratives. Regardless of the outcome of Monday's referendum, this will remain a persistently pesky issue exploited by our foreign adversaries for the coming months and likely years.

@disinfowatch.bsky.social · 2w ago

U.S. MAGA influencer Cash Jordan has attracted nearly 1.5M YouTube views by amplifying sensational Alberta separatist narratives, blending grievances with misleading claims about Canada's future.

Ukraine’s journalists are doing far more than reporting the news. They’re saving lives, defending democracy and holding communities together under round-the-clock Russian bombardment. @rachel-pulfer.bsky.social + I reflect on our recent visit to Ukraine in today's Globe. @jhrnews.bsky.social

How journalists are keeping Ukrainians safe

Newsrooms in Canada have much to learn about countering Russia’s disinformation from their counterparts in Ukraine

theglobeandmail.com

Don't look away: Russia has killed 100 Ukrainian civilians this week alone. Today, two children were killed. This is the unspeakable terror Donald Trump and the United States are rewarding. www.rferl.org/a/ukraine-ru...

Democracies have a responsibility to defend activists, journalists and communities targeted by Russian, Belarusian, Iranian + PRC transnational repression. Honoured to moderate an OSCE Warsaw Human Dimensions conference TNR panel this week co-organized by @jhrnews.bsky.social @mfaestonia.bsky.social

For anyone curious about US FIMI, in Vilnius or elsewhere: back in May, we published this report examining foreign influence targeting Canada through Alberta separatism, including from south of the border. @disinfo.eu disinfowatch.org/foreign-inte...

Decision Making and National Unity Under Threat - DisinfoWatch

Download the PDF version of the report HERE. Marcus Kolga, Jennie Phillips, Brian McQuinn, Bartel Van de Walle     EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Foreign adversaries are exploiting the Alberta separatist debate...

disinfowatch.org

Ovechkin may be retiring to Mordor after this season. Canada should sanction him now and send a clear message: celebrity endorsement of Putin’s regime and Russia’s criminal war must have real consequences. @hasek_dominik @Capitals @AnitaAnandMP www.theglobeandmail.com/gift/a2e82d8...

Alexander Ovechkin used his fame to back Putin. We must remember that

The NHL star’s appearance in an ad for Putin’s party reinforces the Russian leader’s attempt to tie patriotism to loyalty to himself

theglobeandmail.com

It’s one thing to follow Russia’s war against Ukraine from afar. It’s another to be among those living through it every day + witness the pain and loss, but also the strength, dignity and resolve of Ukrainians who refuse to be broken. Extraordinary few days in Ukraine with JHR colleagues.

The story about content authored by an unknown entity appearing in Canadian media is hardly surprising. Russian GRU agent Mikhail Mikushin studied, published,+ even volunteered on election campaigns- undetected for years. Canadian naivety about foreign influence remains a gaping vulnerability.

Who is Daniel Robson? Canadian websites take down articles by suspected AI-generated writer | CBC News

Several Canadian websites have taken down articles published under the name Daniel Robson, saying the writer's identity cannot be verified and was likely generated by AI.

cbc.ca

Foreign influence thrives in the dark. Expose the actors, narratives and tactics, and it becomes much harder to manipulate Canadians. In The Globe and Mail, Jennie Phillips, Brian McQuinn, Matthew Taylor and I argue that awareness is the first line of defence against foreign influence.

Canada’s best defence against foreign influence is an informed public

No single intervention can stop it, but we can build our resilience to misinformation and disinformation

theglobeandmail.com

By choosing to lend his fame to Putin's corrupt and repressive political machine, Ovechkin has made himself a prominent symbol of a regime responsible for unspeakable crimes against the Ukrainian people: nightly destruction, murder, torture, rape and the forced abduction of more than 20,000 children

Marcus Kolga@marcuskolga.bsky.social · last mo.

Sports figures who lend their celebrity to a regime waging a brutal war against Ukraine and abducting thousands of Ukrainian children need to be held to account - including Ovechkin. Honoured to have co-authored this with a true hockey hero - Dominik Hasek. www.theglobeandmail.com/gift/a2e82d8...

Sports figures who lend their celebrity to a regime waging a brutal war against Ukraine and abducting thousands of Ukrainian children need to be held to account - including Ovechkin. Honoured to have co-authored this with a true hockey hero - Dominik Hasek. www.theglobeandmail.com/gift/a2e82d8...

Alexander Ovechkin used his fame to back Putin. We must remember that

The NHL star’s appearance in an ad for Putin’s party reinforces the Russian leader’s attempt to tie patriotism to loyalty to himself

theglobeandmail.com

A former Fox host Trish Regan is pushing Alberta referendum misinformation to her 1.34 million YouTube subscribers. She falsely calls the Oct. 19 vote a “secession vote” and pitches Alberta as America’s “51st state.” disinfowatch.org/disinfo/form...

Former Fox News Host & Influencer Amplifies Alberta Referendum Misinformation - DisinfoWatch

A U.S. political commentator, and former Fox News host, Trish Regan,  is promoting the idea that Alberta could leave Canada and join the United States while misrepresenting key facts about...

disinfowatch.org

Ottawa cannot tolerate Kremlin officials who abuse diplomatic cover to engage in petty anti-Ukrainian vandalism, harassment and intimidation. Former Senator Stanley Kutcher and I argue that at the very least, officials who do should be expelled. ca.news.yahoo.com/opinion-cana...

Opinion: Canada must confront the Kremlin’s agents at home

Helping Ukraine abroad isn't enough. Russian diplomats in Canada should be heavily scrutinized

ca.news.yahoo.com

The new U.S. DOJ indictment alleging Russian intelligence plots to carry out assassinations abroad should be a wake-up call for Canada . I spoke with CBC about the wider threat of transnational repression and why Canada needs to take it far more seriously. www.youtube.com/watch?v=teck...

How Putin goes after his enemies outside of Russia

YouTube video by CBC News: The National

youtube.com

A new US DOJ indictment offers a disturbing look at how Russian intelligence targets critics abroad through assassination plots. I co-authored this Atlantic Council report on how democracies can counter + prevent transnational repression: www.atlanticcouncil.org/in-depth-res...

Authoritarian reach and democratic response: A tactical framework to counter and prevent transnational repression

When foreign governments conduct surveillance, intimidation, or enforcement actions, they undermine state sovereignty and threaten to erode public trust in institutions, representing a significant nat...

atlanticcouncil.org

Deeply disturbed by the threats directed at Canada's Tribute to Liberty and its chairman, Ludwik Klimkowski. Words have consequences. Persistent and irresponsible Kremlin aligned “Nazi” smears fuel real-world intimidation and hate. tributetoliberty.ca/content/thre...

Anne Applebaum on MAGA ambitions towards Canada: “pressure the economy, break up the federation, pick up the pieces. And no, it is not a joke.”

The Atlantic@theatlantic.com · 2mo ago

Online grifters, private companies, and far-right ideologues have transformed traditional American diplomacy, @anneapplebaum.wsocial.eu writes. She explores how they’re wielding their newfound power:

On CBC News to discuss the Canada–Ukraine agreement. Canada will benefit from Ukraine’s drone expertise, but Ukraine needs air-defence weapons now. Ottawa should press allies like South Korea to sell them immediately + expel Kremlin agents operating under diplomatic cover. www.cbc.ca/player/play/...

CBC speaks with Marcus Kolga about PM Carney and Zelensky signing a 100-year deal

Get the latest on CBCNews.ca, the CBC News App, and CBC News Network for breaking news and analysis.

cbc.ca

While Russian drones terrorize Ukrainian civilians and kill scores night after night, Donald Trump is more concerned with protecting Vladimir Putin’s energy revenues. One wonders what Trump’s real-estate agent discussed with Putin in Moscow. Vile. www.rferl.org/a/ukraine-po...

Russian narratives targeting Zelensky’s visit to Canada. A network of fake Alberta websites created to shape the Alberta separatism debate with new analysis from VIGIL Strategic Intelligence on the network behind them. All in our latest DisinfoDigest: disinfowatch.org/disinfodiges...

DisinfoDigest: Foreign Narratives Targeting Canada & Ukraine - DisinfoWatch

This edition of DisinfoDigest highlights how foreign and foreign-linked actors continue to exploit political divisions, democratic debates and international crises using a mix of state media, influenc...

disinfowatch.org

Update: OpenAI says following its own investigation, prompted by this story, it has banned the account of one of the creators of this network of websites.

A US-linked network of fake websites is promoting Alberta separatism to AI chatbots

The websites present crude, AI-generated slop disguised as the voice of real Albertans. But they're made in Florida — and they're not even targeting Albertans directly.

nationalobserver.com

U.S. influencer Benny Johnson openly urging Albertans to separate and join US - "why wouldn't we take it by force" - to his 4.1million followers on Twitter. His video drew 250k+ views on YouTube alone. disinfowatch.org/disinfo/u-s-...

RT amplifies JD Vance’s false claim that Canada is a leading global “trade violator”, exploiting deteriorating Canada–U.S. relations to deepen mistrust and division between Canadians and Americans. Our latest DisinfoWatch analysis: disinfowatch.org/disinfo/rt-a...

RT Amplifies Vance Claim That Canada Is a Leading Global Trade Violator - DisinfoWatch

Russian state-controlled media outlet RT has repurposed and amplified remarks by U.S. Vice-President JD Vance falsely portraying Canada as one of the world’s leading “tariff” and “trade violators,” wh...

disinfowatch.org

Let’s not forget that Canada’s neighbours put this person in a position to do this, enabling him to relentlessly threaten and abuse us while inflicting what may be irreversible damage on the U.S.-Canada relationship. Canadians will not forget.

The Kremlin’s denial of the 23.8.1939 Hitler-Stalin Pact is the cardinal lie on which most others are based - including those used to justify its war against Ukraine. Black Ribbon Day ensures we never forget the truth and victims of Soviet + Nazi terror. www.theglobeandmail.com/gift/a2e82d8...

This is the history that Vladimir Putin wants us to forget

The Russian President wants the world to believe a victim narrative about the Soviet Union. That story ignores some inconvenient facts

theglobeandmail.com