Canada lacks the tools to counter ‘existential threat’ of disinformation: commissioner

Deciphering the truth on social media is getting more difficult. Judy Trinh on the concerns being raised.

Canadians must guard against the “existential threat” of disinformation which can be weaponized through artificial intelligence and spread through social media to undermine democracy, said Justice Marie-Josee Hogue last week at the conclusion of the public inquiry into foreign interference.

“The greatest threat -- the one I believe threatens the very existence of our democracy -- is disinformation,” said Hogue, who spent a year-and-a-half analyzing top secret intelligence documents and hearing the testimony of more than 150 witnesses related to political meddling by foreign nations.

The message that resonated across seven volumes and 860 pages of her final report was the recognition that Canada did not have the tools to deal with the danger of disinformation, which can be spread by both foreign and domestic players.

“The threat is all the more nefarious because the means available to counter it are limited and very difficult to implement…this cannot be the sole purview of the government. It will not work,” the commissioner told a room full of journalists.

And while Hogue’s work focused on the actions of China, India, Russia and Iran – analysts say her findings on disinformation also apply to this tense moment in Canadian history, when our closest ally the United States is treating Canada as an economic foe in launching a trade war.

Trump has asserted that Canada should become the “51st state” and has taken to social media to amplify misleading and derisive information. On Sunday, Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform that without a “massive subsidy,” Canada “ceases to exist as a viable country.” The battle for hearts and mind is taking place over social media, and Trump has won over the support of the CEOs of the globe’s major technology companies – many of them who were invited to his inauguration.

Democracies weakened

Hogue’s sobering assessment comes as Ontario is plunged into a provincial election, and federal opposition parties vow to topple the Liberal government once parliament resumes.

“We are sleepwalking to what I think will be a disastrous effect (into) an election that will be uglier than anything we’ve ever seen,” said New Democrat member of parliament, Charlie Angus. “AI, bot technology is ramping up and we’re still living in the 1980s.”

Last summer the riding of Timmins-James Bay, that Angus represents, came under attack by an AI-powered disinformation campaign that spread on social media.

After a visit by Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre to Kirkland Lake, Ont. last July, hundreds of “X” accounts from Europe and Asia began posting positive comments about the opposition leader.

Bots that lie

The Conservatives denied they were involved and the Canadian Digital Media Research Network found no evidence that a party was involved. Instead, the CDMRN said the misleading campaign was likely orchestrated by an individual using free generative AI, such as ChatGPT, to train bots to talk like humans about Canadian news events. The bots then began talking with each other, which led to more posts being generated.

“It looked like people rising up to support the energy of this campaign,” said Taylor Owen, the Director of the Centre for Media, Technology and Democracy at McGill University. Owen said disinformation can be used to boost or dampen support. He called what happened in Kirkland Lake a “small indicator of a much bigger problem” on the horizon.

“There’s nothing stopping anyone from deploying a large number of bots…You can imagine what a foreign government could do, or a nefarious actor or even a political campaign. The point is our broader infrastructure is really vulnerable,” Owen said.

Meanwhile, experts say the biggest disinformation threat in the next election may come from the world’s richest man and delivered over X.

Musk risk

After Elon Musk purchased X, formerly called Twitter, he fired the moderators who fact-checked posts and took down abusive posts. Since taking over, Musk has promoted the views of far right politicians in Britain and Germany and amplified them to the company’s 600 million active X users.

Some analysts say Musk has crossed the line from influence to interference.

“When a foreign government or individual uses their control over a platform to circumvent the normal rules of public discourse, or changes the algorithm so that certain ideas are promoted over others to secretly spread information using bots, or to try and torque a debate using AI -- that’s interference,” said Owen.

Although Musk was born in South Africa and has American citizenship, his mother was born in Saskatchewan. The tech billionaire, who is a close ally of U.S. President Donald Trump, has called Prime Minister Justin Trudeau an “insufferable tool” on X and has chimed in to support Trump’s mockery of Trudeau as “governor” of the “51st state.” Musk has also praised Poilievre and reposted the opposition leader’s posts on X.

Concerned about Musk’s potential interference in the next election, Angus has called on Elections Canada to investigate the billionaire.

After representing Timmins-James Bay for two decades, Angus has decided not to run in the next election. But before he exits politics, he’s calling for Elections Canada to use whatever tools it has to hold Musk’s potential meddling in check.

“He’s very close to a president who has threatened our sovereignty. Our nation. It’s incredibly naive for Elections Canada to think this is going to be just another election or that the tools we have will help us. (Canada) will get rolled over very quickly by the rage machine that Elon Musk has -- unless we have the tools in place to limit his interference.”

Missed opportunity, more vulnerability

But it’s not just Musk that Canadians should be concerned about. Analysts say the unprecedented alliance in the U.S. between politics, wealth and technology means more deregulation and fewer protections around disinformation.

“What we’re seeing now thanks to the change in regime in the United States is a licence for tech companies to essentially stop doing moderating,” said Brent Arnold, a litigator with Gowling WLG, who specializes in cybersecurity law.

Arnold said Canada missed two opportunities in the last year to put some limits around the development of artificial intelligence.

Bill C-63, the Online Harms Act, would have given the government some ability to regulate the use of AI by social media companies, while Bill C-65 would have expanded the ability of the Commissioner for Canada Elections to investigate the broadcast or publication of misleading information.

Both bills hit a dead end when parliament was prorogued.

“Absent legislation, there’s not much we can do but really question the information you’re getting. Do the research…If the citizens aren’t willing to do that - they are playing with fire and taking chances with their own democracy,” said Arnold.