Pro-Russian propaganda entering Canada since the start of the war in Ukraine is 56% spread by American influencers, which puts the federal government in an uncomfortable position to expose it. Especially since the country is struggling to counter it.
Posted at 5:00 a.m.
This is the observation made by Jean-Christophe Boucher, assistant professor at the School of Public Policy and the Department of Political Science at the University of Calgary, following a study of more than 6 million messages published or shared on Twitter.
Launched in November 2021, the analysis aims to map and analyze the conversation in the Canadian Twittersphere around the war in Ukraine.
First observation: 75% of the content is “pro-Ukraine” and 25% of tweets and retweets are dedicated to pro-Russian propaganda. It is in this segment of the 25% of tweets favorable to the Russian discourse that the American sector expresses itself, including commentators from Fox News, to take an example.
This is a problem for the central government. It is easy to criticize China or Russia by saying that these countries are trying to influence our public opinion and weaken our democratic regime. But when disinformation comes through the United States, that’s another problem.
Jean-Christophe Boucher, University of Calgary
Mr. Boucher also noted that pro-Russian accounts are more active than pro-Ukrainian ones. “If 25% of the conversation comes from pro-Russian accounts, these have broadcast 35% of the tweets identified,” he says.
“We created a tool to rake and collect data on Twitter in real time, continues the researcher, who receives federal funds. We launched the machine in November. As soon as Russia attacked Ukraine, we started collecting data and we still do. »
Some of the actors of the twittosphere create content while others are content to disseminate (retweet) the messages, adds Mr. Boucher.
Who is spreading pro-Russian propaganda? We find American influencers, groups close to the services of the Chinese or Russian State (Mr. Boucher gives the example of Julian Assange and WikiLeaks), people who are simply convinced. There are also accounts “directly funded by Russian services” retweeting propaganda from their country, he notes.
A law in the making
“Marginal groups spread misinformation and it works,” says Jean-Christophe Boucher. All studies show that social media influences not only the way people consume information, but also their opinion on a range of issues. »
However, believes the researcher, “the Canadian government is picking up the slack in this cause”.
“When we talk about it with our federal interlocutors, they answer: ‟We know it, but we don’t know what to do with it”, continues Mr. Boucher. How do we fight disinformation when it comes from the United States? The Canadian government does not currently have a policy that structures the legal ecosystem on disinformation. »
In fact, the government is currently looking into drafting a disinformation law and consulting with experts. David Morin, full professor at the School of Applied Politics at the University of Sherbrooke, is one of them.
“Canada is not alone in being deprived,” he said. The European Union is also trying to catch up. The British are the same [ce que M. Boucher constate aussi]. »
The problem at the moment is that misinformation in itself is not illegal. On the other hand, it becomes so if it is associated with encouraging violence, the integrity of the electoral process, encouraging genocide, and so on.
David Morin, from the University of Sherbrooke
Mr. Morin says that initially the bill focuses on harmful content online. “For example, everything related to child sex trafficking, terrorism, hate speech, violence, he explains. But the question of misinformation arises, because it is very broad. »
Moreover, he says, one must separate what is false, and therefore reprehensible, from what is simply a contrary opinion. “We may not agree with Russian policies, but we are in a democracy. The last thing anyone would want is to remove all pro-Russian content and only have pro-Ukrainian content. The truth would not be better served. »
The managers of the distribution platforms also have a moderating role to play in tackling misinformation, adds Mr. Morin.
The draft law and a summary of the work of the expert committee can be viewed online. We do not know when this project will end up on the order paper in the House of Commons.
Learn more
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- 3 million
- Investment announced in March 2022 by Canada to counter disinformation “linked to Russia’s ongoing aggression against Ukraine”.
SOURCE: Global Affairs Canada