Chinese 'Spamouflage' disinformation campaign targeted Trudeau, Poilievre, says Global Affairs

Chinese ‘Spamouflage’ disinformation campaign targeted Trudeau, Poilievre, says Global Affairs
ROBERT FIFEOTTAWA BUREAU CHIEF
STEVEN CHASESENIOR PARLIAMENTARY REPORTER
OTTAWA
PUBLISHED YESTERDAY
UPDATED 3 HOURS AGO

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/politics/article-chinese-spamouflage-disinformation-canadian-mps/

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Members of Parliament, including Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Official Opposition Leader Pierre Poilievre, were the targets of a disinformation campaign known as “Spamouflage” and carried out by the Chinese government in August and September, Global Affairs Canada says.

“This campaign targeted dozens of MPs from across the political spectrum and spanning multiple geographic regions of Canada, including the Prime Minister, the leader of the Official Opposition, and several members of cabinet,” the department said Monday in a statement.

The department’s Rapid Response Mechanism, which was set up to counter foreign state-sponsored disinformation, said the aim was to discourage MPs from criticizing China’s authoritarian Communist Party.

“These spam comments claimed that a critic of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) in Canada had accused the various MPs of criminal and ethical violations,” Global Affairs said. “The Spamouflage campaign also included the use of likely ‘deepfake’ videos, which are digitally modified by artificial intelligence, targeting the individual.”

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