Major Russian disinfo site featuring anti-Trudeau articles prompts calls for new focus at public inquiry

A website at the heart of an international Russian disinformation operation has produced more than a dozen articles about Canadian politics in an apparent attempt to undermine support for Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and boost his chief rival, Pierre Poilievre.

The website Reliable Recent Newshas been identified by officials in Europe and the U.S. as a repository for pro-Kremlin articles that are distributed through a network of affiliated sites disguised to appear as legitimate news outlets.

Earlier this month, U.S. authorities seized a domain that hosted Reliable Recent News (RRN), though it continues to operate on another domain. In an affidavit, authorities describe RRN as a tool to "further the malign influence campaign" waged by Russia in support of its invasion of Ukraine.

The RRN articles about Canadian politics focus on controversies involving the Liberal government, often supplying inaccurate descriptions of its policies and ridiculing Trudeau.He is referred to as the "incompetent prime minister" and, elsewhere, as being "better suited to a role in a political satire alongside Vladimir Zelensky," the Ukrainian president.

Some articles also indicate a preference for Poilievre, who in a recent piece is referred to as "the savvy leader of the pro-business Conservatives."

In a statement to CBC News, deputy Conservative leader Melissa Lantsman said, "Any act of foreign interference in Canada, by any foreign government is unacceptable."

A spokesperson for the Prime Minister's Office told CBC News on Saturday that "the government takes any attempt of foreign interference very seriously as a threat to Canadian national security and democratic integrity."

Doppelganger comes to Canada

Disinformation experts have been aware of RRN for nearly two years as it plays a key role in an elaborate disinformation scheme known as Doppelganger, which is aimed at voters in Europe and the U.S.

"I was actually quite surprised by just the volume of [Canadian] content," said Marcus Kolga, director of DisinfoWatch, a Canadian group that monitors disinformation.

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But he noted that the content of the Canadian articles aligns squarely with the goals of Russian propaganda, which were detailed in documents supporting the affidavit.

"All these headlines seek to divide and polarize. That's the objective that was outlined in the affidavit," he said.

The seizure of the RRN domain came immediately following bombshell allegations by U.S. authorities that Tenet Media, a right-wing website started by Canadian influencer Lauren Chen, was funded and directed by Russian operatives.

Another Canadian influencer, Lauren Southern, produced dozens of videos about Canadian politics for the site. She claims she was unaware of how Tenet was funded.

Calls for inquiry to focus more on Russia

The identification of an additional source of Russian propaganda about Canada has led to calls for the ongoing public inquiry into foreign interference, which resumes public hearings on Monday, to devote more attention to Russia's actions in Canada.

"I was concerned that Russia was completely missed during the first phase," said Kolga.

In a preliminary report released in May, the inquiry concluded that "Russia is likely not currently a significant foreign interference threat to Canadian federal elections."

The Russian Canadian Democratic Alliance, a diaspora group that testified in the first phase of hearings, has asked the inquiry to revisit those conclusions in light of the allegations about Tenet Media.

It also believes the RRN articles constitute interference within the terms laid out by the inquiry.

"I think any attempt by foreign governments to influence Canadian citizens' opinions, especially when we know that there's a lot of money changing hands, is something that the commission should investigate," said Yuriy Novodvorskiy, the group's director.

How resilient is Canada?

There is little indication that RRN articles about Canada were shared widely on mainstream social media sites.

Meta,Facebook's parent company, has indicated in the past that it is aware of the RRN campaign and takes steps to prevent its content from circulating.

"Overall, I don't think it has that much impact," said Kolga, who is also affiliated with the Canadian Digital Media Research Network.

But he did express concern about the cumulative effect of disinformation in an increasingly divided society.

"If we're looking at the narratives focused on Ukraine in the U.S., it's clear that they had some effect," he said, pointing to prominent influencers who have retweeted Kremlin talking points.

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His colleague at the research network, McGill assistant professor Aengus Bridgman, says there's no indication that public opinion in Canada is any more resilient to disinformation campaigns.

"Most of these measures [of polarization] are worsening in the Canadian context, particularly amongst people who spend a lot of time online," Bridgman said.

They may be a small percentage of the overall population, but they "end up being consequential for politics," he said.

"They are the loudest voices. That's where the energy is in politics today."