Canadian security officials are warning of a Russian propaganda campaign that used social media to spread disinformation online.
The Canadian Cyber Security Center said the Americans affiliated with RT, formerly known as Russia Today, were a social media bot farm under the direction of the Russian government.
Officials said fake social media accounts with incorrect information were created in the U. S. and abroad.
The accounts posed as Americans and promoted messages that supported the Russian government’s goals, they said.
When asked to comment on these claims, RT’s press service said: “Farming is the favorite pastime of millions of Russians. “
Canada, along with the United States and the Netherlands, have worked to disrupt the disinformation campaign, but officials warn that the activity may simply appear on other social media sites.
The United States said 968 social media accounts were known to have been used by Russian actors. X has since suspended those accounts.
Last month, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said during a stopover in Canada that disinformation posed a risk to the defensive alliance and its efforts to arm Ukraine to oppose a Russian invasion.
“Disinformation is challenging because we see Russia fueling disinformation in many ways. We also see China doing it,” Stoltenberg told Canadian media.
“So we have to be very aware of the risk. “
While the government’s role is to counter disinformation, an independent and relaxed press remains the most productive way to oppose it, Stoltenberg said.
The wariness of Russia’s propaganda crusade also comes as U. S. and Canadian officials grapple with how to counter foreign attempts to disrupt the election through artificial intelligence and disinformation.
NATO leaders are in Washington this week for their annual summit and to mark the alliance’s anniversary, with Ukraine and aid to Ukraine at the center of the discussions.
“As the Russian government continues to wage its brutal war in Ukraine and threaten democracies around the world, the Department of Justice will continue to deploy our entire judicial government to counter Russian aggression and the American people,” said the United States Attorney General. United, Merrick B. Garland in a statement.
In a speech Tuesday at the Canada embassy in Washington, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said cybersecurity is one of the biggest issues facing the alliance’s security.
“We will have to be clear about the current state of global affairs,” he said.
“We live in a dangerous, volatile, and complex world. Cyberwarfare, the resurgence of authoritarian forces, the expansion of regional conflicts, and, everywhere, the growing effects of climate change constitute developing threats to our collective security and our continued prosperity. “
Following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Canada’s broadcasting regulator banned broadcasting on the state-owned RT channel, as as RT France.
At the time, the Canadian Radio-Television and Telecommunications Commission concluded that the stations’ content was “not in the public interest” because it exposed Ukrainians to hatred or contempt based on their race, national or ethnic origin.
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