Russian disinformation farms have found a new target: Alberta.
Driving the news: New research from the University of Regina found that Russian content farms are targeting Alberta residents with online disinformation campaigns encouraging them to vote in favour of separation. Between July 17 and July 30, the research lab found that 80% of analyzed disinformation posts were linked to Russia.
Albertaseparatist.com — an account disguised as a local, grassroots movement — was found to have used a fake B.C. address and was actually an offshoot of a Russian cyber unit that also interfered in the 2016 U.S. presidential election.
Catch-up: A separate report in April found a collection of "deliberately inauthentic” social media accounts that peddled disinformation and promoted the idea of Alberta joining the U.S. — those videos had already amassed 40 million views when the report was published.
Researchers said they couldn’t pinpoint where the videos were coming from, but that it was clear they weren’t Canadian. One video narrator — claiming to be a local discussing politics with B.C. residents — was actually a voice actor in Pennsylvania.
Why it matters: Fewer than one in five Albertans support the idea of separation, according to Ipsos polling, but misinformation campaigns like these, which exaggerate the support for a political movement, can generate real momentum. Researchers found that Russian disinformation campaigns played a role in swaying public support in favour of Brexit.
Our take: The separatist movement is losing financial and public support among Albertans. The noise on social media may be getting louder, but that won’t necessarily translate to genuine support come referendum day.—LA
