(Ottawa) Foreign actors are trying to interfere with Canadian media, and journalists and their bosses must be aware of this, the president of the Committee of Parliamentarians on National Security and Intelligence warned Wednesday.
All forms of media, including mainstream media, are subject to interference by malicious people, Liberal MP David McGuinty said.
He said he could not release details because the information is classified.
The media was singled out in a recent review by the committee chaired by Mr. McGuinty.
It highlights how China and India interfere with Canadian media content by engaging directly with journalists and media executives.
Foreign interference is clearly present in the media, and it is singled out in the review, not only in our most recent review, but also in the previous one.
David McGuinty, Liberal MP
“You should read it and pass it on to your owners and editors. »
The latest report says there are examples of China paying to publish news articles without attribution, funding media trips to China, pressuring journalists to retract articles, and creating fake accounts on Twitter. social networks to spread disinformation.
The report also states that India has developed a network of contacts through which it carries out interference activities involving journalists, members of ethnocultural communities and parliamentarians.
The redacted report is based on secret intelligence, which often does not give a complete picture of the situation and does not amount to evidence.
These states are targeting Canada to exploit its open society and penetrate institutions to achieve their goals, the committee’s 2019 report points out.
This includes media manipulation, which poses a significant risk to the rights and freedoms of Canadians and to the sovereignty of the country, according to this same report.