The weekly update on the Canadian election provides information on trends and dynamics observed in the information ecosystem (Snapshot), identifies and shares insights on information-related incidents and emerging threats (Incidents), and shares educational content, research findings and other relevant outputs from our Coalition on Information Ecosystem Resilience (Update). All facts and figures are taken from an original survey and social media data collection by the Media Ecosystem Observatory and the analysis reflects the period from March 28 to April 3.

This week we have flagged one new minor incident and report back on three minor incidents from last week. We have not identified any incidents that we consider to be moderate or major incidents.

SNAPSHOT

The 2025 Federal election is taking place in a time of renewed attention—and suspicion—regarding foreign actors interfering in Canadian politics and manipulating our information ecosystem. Last week, we reported that 68% of Canadians were more concerned about foreign interference from the US than from other countries. Foreign interference has already been a prominent topic this year. The Public Inquiry Into Foreign Interference in Federal Electoral Processes and Democratic Institutions released its final report highlighting disinformation as the greatest threat to democracy; Global Affairs Canada’s Rapid Response Mechanism reported on an information operation targeting Chrystia Freeland during the Liberal Party Leadership election; and Liberal, NDP, and Bloc Québécois Leader’s criticized Conservative Party leader Pierre Poilievre for not getting his security clearance.

The plot below shows online engagement with posts by prominent Canadian opinion leaders about information manipulation and foreign interference over the past three months as a percentage of all engagement with all content by those accounts (800k posts with total engagement of 330M). Although the three events described above prompted spikes in conversation on information manipulation by foreign actors, none have matched what we saw at the beginning of the campaign.

By the third day of the election campaign (March 25), over 8% of all online engagement with Canadian opinion leaders centered on content related to foreign interference and information manipulation. This sharp rise was fueled by the convergence of multiple high-profile developments:

The Globe and Mail released a report based on a confidential source from the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS), alleging that Indian agents covertly worked to help Poilievre win the Conservative Party Leadership race without his knowledge in 2022.
When asked about the allegations at a press event early in the day, Poilievre pivoted by accusing Liberal Party leader Mark Carney of ties to the Chinese government through business dealings related to his role as chair of Brookfield in the fall of 2024.
Simultaneously, Danielle Smith’s appearance on Breitbart — where she discussed American tariffs and the value of pausing them until after the election due to their polling impact — gained traction on social media, with users accusing Smith of asking the US to interfere in the election.

Over the past week discussion of foreign interference picked up once again after then Liberal incumbent MP Paul Chiang suggested that people should turn in his Conservative opponent into the Chinese consulate to collect the bounty on his head set by the Chinese government. Such bounties are part of a broader pattern of transnational repression tactics coming from foreign states and especially China. The Canadian public responded to these comments with outrage online that culminated in Chiang’s resignation on April 1st. During that same period, numerous claims about Carney’s ties to the Chinese government saw increased engagement online. We continue to collect and analyze these public conversations for signs of inauthentic manipulation and interference but at this time assess it to be organic. Other candidates have been dropped due to perceived alignment with foreign states. We note that there is considerable online commentary questioning past and current relationships between numerous political candidates and India and China.

As the election goes on, we will continue to monitor the online information ecosystem for signs of coordinated information manipulation by bad and/or foreign actors or otherwise.

INFORMATION INCIDENTS

During the election, we report on information incidents that could mislead the public and disrupt the democratic processes. Generally we are concerned with covert information manipulation and foreign interference efforts as opposed to instances of influence which are definitionally overt and public. This week, we identify one new minor incident and report back on three minor incidents from last week (closing two of them). Click here to learn more about our incident response thresholds.

NEW INCIDENTS

**▶️Suspicious accounts igniting Carney-Epstein misinformation**

We are currently investigating the online origins of a false story linking Liberal leader Mark Carney to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. The claims received news coverage and were debunked after a heckler at a Carney rally accused him of abusing children. Online, the false allegations spread through AI-generated images , purportedly showing Carney with Epstein’s associate, Ghislaine Maxwell. The story has been tied to conspiracy theories regarding the promotion of a “Green Genocide Agenda” and accusing Carney of being part of a Satanist cult — narratives that have been amplified on Rumble by non-Canadian creators. See Disinfowatch’s post on the incident.

We collected all posts on X mentioning both Carney and Epstein in March 2025 and observed surges on March 9 and March 26 with top posts receiving millions of views. Many of the posts immediately before March 9 came from a small number of spam accounts who abruptly started amplifying the story by replying to posts from major (Canadian) political figures on X, posting the same message many times with little to no variation. This can be a successful attention-seeking strategy and is commonly employed by bot and spam accounts. Analysis of the accounts themselves revealed that they mostly reshare posts rather than posting original content, have expressed support for other conspiracy theories, and primarily share anti-Liberal and anti-Carney content. Some also frequently repost AI-generated images. We continue to monitor if these accounts are part of a coordinated bot network and will provide updates. We continue to caution that X accounts that cannot be clearly linked to a known entity may be piloted by bad actors and to exercise caution in engaging with them.

ONGOING INCIDENTS

In our last update, we previously identified multiple suspicious accounts on X that continue to create and share content related to the Federal election. Many of these accounts target one political party, share misinformation related to the campaign at a very high volume and have other characteristic tells of bot activity. Several of the accounts we have identified have been suspended but others remain active and have not been taken down by X (as of April 3rd). Generally these accounts do not receive significant engagement but we will continue to monitor. We continue to caution Canadians using X against engaging with accounts that cannot be clearly linked to a known entity.

CLOSED INCIDENTS

**▶️AI-generated posts masquerading as real news**

Last week, we launched an investigation into AI-generated “clickbait” content masquerading as legitimate news sources. These posts circulated on Facebook, Instagram, and X, often as (paid) sponsored posts, used AI-generated images of Canadian politicians and appearing to come from reputable news sources, and contained links to cryptocurrency scams.

We continue to observe a large number of sponsored posts and ads on Facebook (example pages include CBC 24/7, Podcast in Canada, Canada Votes, Holla Investing), Instagram, X, and YouTube which include links to fake news articles and falsely present themselves as legitimate news sources (e.g. CBC, Toronto Sun, CTV) by reproducing their name, logo, and design. The fake articles pressured readers to engage in “risk-free” investments endorsed by (for example) Carney or NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh, and some used AI-generated images showing the leaders being detained or arrested for sharing their secret investment formulas. The investment scams use different names, including CanFirst, Capstone, Token Tact, Canada Crypto Fund, NorthEdge, and True North. The links embedded in the posts usually include a form for the viewer to provide their contact details. We found these fake articles across all social media platforms had moderate-to-high views and engagement (e.g. 1,600 engagements or more) indicating a moderate financial investment in spreading the content.

These fake articles are part of an international scheme following the same pattern of using AI-generated photos or videos of public figures and the visuals of legitimate news sources to earn the trust of readers, then defraud them once they provide their personal information. These scams have received media coverage in Canada and internationally in recent months.

As the objective of the fake news posts appears to be financial, rather than an attempt to influence the Canadian election, we have closed the incident. However, we will continue to monitor the information ecosystem for similar content posing as legitimate news sources, and caution Canadians to always verify the sources of information they encounter online (for example, by verifying that the URL matches the name of the news outlet). Additionally, any clickable content with logos of legitimate news sources on Meta platforms (Instagram and Facebook) are likely scams given that Meta continues to block news on those platforms.

**▶️Suspicious Facebook groups supporting “the 51st state”**

Last week, we identified a minor incident regarding Facebook Groups promoting Canada becoming the 51st state of the United States. While some of the groups appeared organic and authentic, we observed that others had been renamed and repurposed from pre-existing groups, potentially indicating they had been hacked or purchased by bad actors to spread disinformation and foster polarization.

We investigated the largest suspicious group, currently named “Canadians for the 51st state and Elon Musk for Governor” (as of April 3), which was repurposed in January 2023, and traced its connections to other groups. An investigation of connected groups and their administrators did not reveal a wider pattern of malicious actors taking over groups to advocate for 51st statehood or similar positions. We were also unable to find any evidence from Facebook’s Ad Library that these Groups had promoted any content, political or otherwise.

The hacking/purchasing of a small number of Facebook Groups and repurposing them to promote ideas related to Canadian politics appears to be an isolated incident. Posts from other Groups promoting “the 51st state” appear to be authentic: some Canadians are advocating for Canada to become an American state, or for Alberta to secede and become an American state. We have therefore closed this incident. Nevertheless, Canadians should be aware of how easy it is for actors to purchase and repurpose groups on social platforms and exercise caution accordingly.

If you see something, say something: if you see suspicious content online related to the Canadian election that you think is indicative of someone attempting to manipulate or mislead Canadians, take a screenshot and send us a tip via our tipline. A researcher will review each one.

COALITION RESOURCES

MEDIASMARTS

MediaSmarts is a non-profit organization dedicated to digital and media literacy. Below are some of their key resources related to the election.

For everyone:

The Break the Fake: How to tell what's true online portal teaches easy-to-follow steps on how to verify information through videos, tips and quizzes
Article: Four steps to getting better political and election news

Lesson plans for teachers:

DISINFOWATCH

DisinfoWatch is a Canadian platform that monitors and debunks foreign disinformation. Its mission is to build long-term societal resilience by exposing instances of mis- and disinformation and educating the public on how to identify and respond to them. Here are a few of their most recent resources:

New : Short explainers to help decode information incident terminology

We’ve put together quick, accessible explainers to help clarify terms like bots, astroturfing, and more. We’ll be adding to the list over the next week — and if there’s terminology you’d like us to cover, don’t hesitate to reach out!

THIS WEEK FROM THE TIPLINE

We have received a total of 126 submissions during the election period including 64 new submissions this week.
53% of the new submissions involve posts on Facebook. Approximately 20% involve posts from Instagram and YouTube.
The submissions form this week focused on four main topics:

Claims and/or concerns about misleading content from official party campaigns.
Misinformation and misleading narratives targeting Carney and Poilievre.
Rise in false claims and conspiracy theories originating from YouTube.
Concerns about the increasing spread of misinformation and disinformation.

See something online? Say something!

👉Let us know via our Tipline

Weekly Update 2 | Friday, April 4