Canada's foreign ministry, Global Affairs Canada, has unveiled evidence of a disinformation campaign termed 'spamouflage' that has targeted numerous Canadian politicians, including Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
According to the ministry, the campaign aims to quash criticism of Beijing and has escalated notably in September.
Detected by the authorities in early August, the campaign deployed a bot network to inundate social media accounts of Canadian politicians with comments in both of the country's official languages — English and French.
The campaign targeting dozens of MPs alleged various criminal and ethical misconduct by the politicians.
"The spamouflage campaign also included the use of likely 'deep fake' videos, which are digitally modified by artificial intelligence, targeting the individual," the ministry revealed.
Global Affairs Canada’s Rapid Response Mechanism has detected a ‘Spamouflage’ campaign connected to China.This campaign targeted dozens of MPs including the PM. They are all aware of this and have been provided with advice on how to protect themselves from foreign interference
— Mélanie Joly (@melaniejoly) October 23, 2023
China denies
This campaign is the latest in a series of allegations by Canadian intelligence, accusing Beijing of meddling in Canada's political affairs.
China has consistently denied any such interference.
The bot network implicated in the Canadian case has similarities to a known spamouflage network previously reported by technology companies such as Meta and Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT).
Global Affairs Canada said it had informed the relevant social media platforms, leading to the removal of much of the disinformation.
Potential meddling in elections
Global Affairs Canada has also advised the affected politicians on protective measures against suspected foreign interference.
The Australian Strategic Policy Institute, a Canberra-based think tank, has also examined this network, aiding Canada in its assessment.
Earlier this month, Canada initiated a foreign interference inquiry to investigate potential meddling by China, Russia and other foreign actors in its elections.