As Canadians gear up for the federal election on April 28, a troubling surge in fake political content has emerged across social media platforms, raising alarm among researchers and intelligence agencies alike. A new report from the Media Ecosystem Observatory (MEO) reveals that more than 25% of Canadians have encountered politically charged misinformation—much of it more sophisticated and divisive than in previous election cycles.
The report highlights how disinformation has flourished on platforms like Facebook, despite Meta’s 2023 ban on Canadian news content in response to the Online News Act. That legislation, known as Bill C-18, was designed to force tech giants to pay journalism outlets for sharing their work. But Meta’s response—to pull news altogether—has ironically left a vacuum now filled by fraudulent ads and deceptive political posts. According to MEO’s executive director, Aengus Bridgman, the ban “cut legitimate news off at the knees,” leaving users vulnerable to misinformation posing as real journalism.
Among the most concerning trends are Facebook pages masquerading as news sources to promote fake investment schemes, often tied to cryptocurrency scams. In one instance, seven deepfake videos showed Prime Minister Mark Carney endorsing a government financial program that, in reality, redirects users to a scam site. These videos often mimic real broadcasts from CBC or CTV and use headlines like “Carney Announces Controversial Tariff Plan in Response to Trump’s Devastating Tariffs.” A French-language page called Money Mindset even paid nearly C$1,000 for fraudulent ads using Radio-Canada’s logo, drawing thousands of views before removal.
While some of these posts are designed to appear ironic or humorous, researchers warn the wider threat of deepfakes and impersonation ads lies in their ability to distort political understanding—especially when Canadians are unfamiliar with newer leaders. Bridgman noted that in such cases, people are less likely to detect forged audio or video, making the manipulation far more dangerous.
Government officials are watching closely. SITE (Security and Intelligence Threats to Elections), Canada’s national task force on electoral security, has identified China, Russia, and Iran as persistent risks, and confirmed a recent Chinese-language influence campaign on WeChat. However, they downplayed the operation’s actual impact, suggesting foreign interference remains limited.
Still, the domestic threat is undeniable. The MEO report criticizes platforms like Facebook for inconsistent enforcement and lack of transparency, especially since many of the deceptive ads aren’t labeled as political and thus evade Meta’s ad library. This makes it nearly impossible to track the full scale of disinformation targeting Canadian voters.
“If you aired one of these deepfakes on television, it would be banned instantly under Canadian ad standards,” Bridgman said. “But online, it’s a free-for-all. We’re in a Black Mirror moment—fraudulent content gets millions of views, and somehow we’ve all become desensitized to it.”
With the election just days away, the findings underscore an urgent need for tech companies and regulators to tighten safeguards against political misinformation, especially as bad actors exploit loopholes to undermine public trust and manipulate democratic discourse.
