Both posts caught fire at a suspiciously fast pace, garnering an estimated one to three million views
Both posts caught fire at a suspiciously fast pace, garnering an estimated one to three million views
OTTAWA — Canada’s electoral interference watchdog says the Chinese government is behind recent campaigns on China’s largest social media network to influence views of Liberal Leader Mark Carney.
On March 10 and March 25, Youli-Youmian, the most popular news account on the Chinese social media platform WeChat, shared posts about Liberal Leader Mark Carney that cast him in a generally positive light.
Both posts on the Youli-Youmian account soon caught fire at a suspiciously fast pace, garnering between 85,000 and 130,000 interactions and an estimated one to three million views.
The posts got so much attention so quickly on the Chinese platform that they caught the eye of the Security and Intelligence Threats to Elections (SITE) Task Force, which realized that the Youli-Youmian publications were part of an information campaign by the People’s Republic of China (PRC).
“This content has been amplified in a coordinated and inauthentic way. This information operation had contrasting positive and negative narratives, first amplifying Mr. Carney’s stance with the United States and then targeting his experience and credentials,” said PCO assistant secretary for communications Laurie-Anne Kempton during a Monday briefing.
“The SITE Task Force assesses that the foreign state-backed information operation was intended to influence Canadian Chinese communities and look to mold perceptions” about Carney, she added.
The March 10 post was titled “The US encounters a ‘tough guy’ Prime Minister” and describes Carney’s position vis-à-vis President Donald Trump’s tariff threats.
The March 25 article, titled “Canada’s road to a ‘seeking survival’ election,” describes Carney’s political road to Liberal leader but also notes that his career to date has “not been smooth” and he’s been criticized by Conservatives for refusing to disclose his assets.
Kemper said the government discovered the manipulation by the CCP and advised the Liberal party on Sunday April 6.
SITE members said they were warning the public of the scheme so that they were aware of Chinese attempts to manipulate the information seen by Chinese-Canadians.
But they emphasized that the campaign had not impacted Canada’s ability to have a free and fair federal election.
“At this time, the panel has determined that this is not affecting Canada’s ability to have a free and fair election. This case is contained to one platform and has not spread further, nor is it affecting Canadians abilities to make informed decisions about their vote,” Kemper said.
SITE also noted that the Youli-Youmian account was also behind information campaigns targeting Liberal leadership candidate Chrystia Freeland in January and another one targeting Conservative MP Michael Chong in 2023.
National Post
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