Trudeau, Poilievre among dozens of MPs targeted by China-linked 'Spamouflage' campaign
CTV
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and dozens of MPs have been targeted by a 'Spamouflage' campaign connected to China, which saw a bot network leave thousands of comments on their social media accounts, making nefarious claims. According to a new statement from Global Affairs Canada, Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre was also targeted.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and dozens of MPs have been targeted by a "Spamouflage" campaign connected to China, which saw a bot network leave thousands of comments on their social media accounts, making nefarious claims.
According to a new statement from Global Affairs Canada (GAC), the federal government's "Rapid Response Mechanism" (RRM) detected the campaign, which it says traces back to the People’s Republic of China.
Beginning in early August and "accelerating in scale" over the long-weekend in September, the campaign targeted MPs across the country and across the political spectrum, posting comments in both English and French on their Facebook and "X" accounts.
The deluge of posts claimed a critic of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) in Canada had accused the targeted MPs of criminal and ethical violations, including the "likely use" of deepfake videos, the RRM found.
Those targeted also included Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre, and several cabinet ministers, but none of what GAC observed poses a risk to their safety, the department said.
"Spamouflage is a tactic that uses networks of new or hijacked social media accounts to post and amplify propaganda messages across multiple platforms," according to the government.
The team that monitors online spaces for foreign state-sponsored disinformation said the goal of this campaign was likely to:
